"Neutral Tones" is a bleak and pessimistic poem that depicts the end of a love affair and the psychological aftereffects. Thomas Hardy wrote the poem in 1867, though it was not published until 1898 in the collection Wessex Poems and Other Verses. The poem's tone reflects the general skepticism that runs throughout Hardy's work; his novels, such as Jude the Obscure and Tess of the D'Urbervilles, are renowned for their unflinching look at the realities of Victorian life.
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The Full Text of “Neutral Tones”
1We stood by a pond that winter day,
2And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
3And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;
4– They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.
5Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
6Over tedious riddles of years ago;
7And some words played between us to and fro
8On which lost the more by our love.
9The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
10Alive enough to have strength to die;
11And a grin of bitterness swept thereby
12Like an ominous bird a-wing….
13Since then, keen lessons that love deceives,
14And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
15Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree,
16And a pond edged with grayish leaves.
The Full Text of “Neutral Tones”
1We stood by a pond that winter day,
2And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
3And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;
4– They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.
5Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
6Over tedious riddles of years ago;
7And some words played between us to and fro
8On which lost the more by our love.
9The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
10Alive enough to have strength to die;
11And a grin of bitterness swept thereby
12Like an ominous bird a-wing….
13Since then, keen lessons that love deceives,
14And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
15Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree,
16And a pond edged with grayish leaves.
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“Neutral Tones” Summary
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“Neutral Tones” Themes
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Love and Loss
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Memory and Emotion
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Neutral Tones”
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Lines 1-4
We stood by a pond that winter day,
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;
– They had fallen from an ash, and were gray. -
Lines 5-6
Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
Over tedious riddles of years ago; -
Lines 7-8
And some words played between us to and fro
On which lost the more by our love. -
Lines 9-10
The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
Alive enough to have strength to die; -
Lines 11-12
And a grin of bitterness swept thereby
Like an ominous bird a-wing…. -
Lines 13-16
Since then, keen lessons that love deceives,
And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree,
And a pond edged with grayish leaves.
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“Neutral Tones” Symbols
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The Natural World
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“Neutral Tones” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Caesura
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Enjambment
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Paradox
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Polysyndeton
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Sibilance
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Simile
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“Neutral Tones” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Chidden
- Sod
- Ash
- Rove
- Wrings
- Curst
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Neutral Tones”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Neutral Tones” Speaker
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“Neutral Tones” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Neutral Tones”
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More “Neutral Tones” Resources
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External Resources
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Wessex Poems and Other Verses — Full text of the collection in which "Neutral Tones" first appeared.
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Thomas Hardy Resources — Various resources related to Thomas Hardy provided by the Hardy society, including analysis of various poems.
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Thomas Hardy Documentary — A BBC documentary about Hardy's life and works.
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Thomas Hardy and His Letters — An interesting article about Hardy's communications via letter.
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Victorian Pessimism — The British podcast "In Our Time' discusses the general atmosphere of pessimism in which Hardy was writing.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Thomas Hardy
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