Works of Thomas Hardy discussion

It is a storm-strid night, winds footing swift
Through the blind profound;
I know the happenings from their sound;
Leaves totter down still green, and spin and drift;
The tree-trunks rock to their roots, which wrench and lift
The loam where they run onward underground.

The streams are muddy and swollen; eels migrate
To a new abode;
Even cross, ’tis said, the turnpike-road;
(Men’s feet have felt their crawl, home-coming late):
The westward fronts of towers are saturate,
Church-timbers crack, and witches ride abroad.

This poem comes from Hardy second to last published work, Human Shows, Far Phantasies, Songs and Trifles, which appeared in 1925.

Hardy was concerned that the book may have seemed too light or frivolous. I would say that his concern was generally unfounded because sometimes a lighter touch can leaven or soften the darker musings.

This poem has a lot of activity. It is a poem about the seasons changing. Eels are migrating and the winds shake even the most deep-rooted trees. The natural world is fully in the middle of a season — yet there is no possibility of sitting back and enjoying things.

Look at some of the words here: totter, spin, drift, wrench, lift, run, migrate, crawl, crack, ride. Such movement and action. We’re in flux, in mid stride.

For winter is coming as the winds indicate, making cracking noises in the usually silent churches — and the last visual we have is skyward where the witches are riding the winds.

John, that's a great observation about all the action verbs that Hardy uses. I hope the storm that's coming up from the Caribbean is not as wild as this one is, and you stay safe in North Carolina.

Hardy personifies the storm striding and the winds footing in the first stanza. It's night so he's using sound, even more than sight, to tell us about the violent storm. It's creepy to think of the eels crawling around the men's feet.

I love how the last sentence has the sense of the supernatural and the gothic with the church-timbers cracking and the witches riding through the winds.

Ooo I love this poem, thanks John. It makes me shiver in my bones ...

As you and Connie have both said, its the choice of words, concentrating on movement and sound, which make it so powerful. Amazing imagery.

I'm puzzled though, because of the title. We never call this season "Fall" in England; it's always "Autumn". So why did he choose to use an American term? Is it because it too evokes movement?

(If it helps I can check the first edition, as I have it at home - one of my very few 1st ed. Hardys)

Linking now.

Jean, that is very interesting about the word Fall. I was not aware of the usage, but one thing that struck me about it yesterday was that I was not certain he was actually referring to Autumn. I was wondering if mid-fall was some type of midlife crisis. But then I thought to myself, nah, you’re overthinking it. Now I am wondering.

I loved this poem as well, it has great imagery and pacing — I could feel it! And what a great choice as we do head into fall. Its been cloudy here in Southern California (so different than I expect this time of year) and so the poem just clicks with it all.

As others, I enjoyed the evocative and active language. The last line takes the poem somewhere else though, as Connie says, almost gothic.

"Church-timbers crack, and witches ride abroad."

It's almost as if the influence of the church is broken and something earlier, something pagan, holds sway.

I wonder if this plays into the word "fall." As in "Fall" with a capital F in the sense of Milton or the fall of man? That is probably a stretch, but I am intrigued by the witches.

There must be a reason for him choosing a non-English term, when "Autumn" is always used. I like your ideas about the extended meaning, John and Greg, and just don't know!

This poem is much deeper than it first appears.

These are wonderful insights into this poem, and my head is spinning now with thoughts.

The image of the stream overflowing with eels is where I feel the poem turns especially eerie. It made me think something very similar to Greg's thought about "the church is broken, and something earlier, some pagan, holds sway". Eels are so slimy, slippery and scary. In my imagination they belong with evil things, or everything that is the opposite of the Church.

And then the discussion of the word "Fall", now that I know autumn is the preferred word in England, I think that Fall must be related to Milton, the fall of man. Why else the church timbers crack and the witches ride the storm.

Is there anything significant in the "westward fronts of towers" being saturated by the storm? This means the wind is coming from the west, right? Why include the direction of the storm? Is that metaphorical in some way?

Thank you for choosing this poem, John. Its wonderful