NEUTRAL TONES
context
"Neutral Tones" is a poem written by Thomas Hardy in 1867. Forming part of his 1898 collection Wessex Poems and Other Verses, it is the most widely praised of his early poems. It is about the end of a relationship, and carries strong emotional appeal despite its "neutral tones".
form
The poem Neutral Tones is written in quatrains. This straightforward grouping of sets of four lines is one of the simplest and most recognisable poetic forms.
structure
The poem consists of four stanzas. The rhyme scheme follows the regular pattern abba. The pairs of rhymed lines contribute to the straightforward style of the poem, supporting the idea of a neutral telling of the tale.
The rhythmic pattern of the poem is not consistent. This maybe echoes the uncomfortable feeling which existed between the two people involved and in the eventual breakdown of their relationship.
The fourth stanza provides a turning point for the poem as the reader realises that what has been explained so far is a described memory. This stanza is particularly halting in its structure (look at how the third line is broken up) which perhaps suggests that the speaker does not feel quite as neutral about the memory as the title suggests.
The overall structure of the poem is circular rather than linear as it starts and ends in the same geographical place. One interpretation of this is that the speaker has not come to terms with what has happened and revisits the memory.
language
Despite the title’s claim, there is a clear pattern of negative words which runs through the poem (‘lost’, ‘deadest’, ‘die’, ‘bitterness’, ‘ominous’).
Some of the words and phrases used by Hardy are deliberately ambiguous. For instance, the words in the title can have more than one meaning. A neutral tone might refer to:
a voice, or voices, saying something unbiased and without a particular point of view (this, at least, is the speaker’s claim)
pale and washed out colours, particularly the natural features of the landscape which are described as either grey or white
The two words of the title have two distinct meanings and perhaps mirror the feelings of the two people described in the memory.
imagery
It is no accident that the poet sets the poem in the season of winter when natural life is less readily visible. The natural features of the landscape in which the poem is set have all been chosen carefully by Hardy to highlight the meaning of the poem and contribute to the tone.
comparison
Comparison of 'Neutral Tones' by Thomas Hardy and 'She Walks In Beauty' by Lord Byron
similarities
Both poems have a speaker who draws attention on a central unidentified figure.
This unidentified figure in both poems has had a deep effect on the speaker (even if this seems to be being denied in the Hardy poem).
Both poems reflect on a significant moment in the speaker’s life.
Both poems make use of imagery to convey the speaker’s feelings towards the unidentified figure.
differences
The speaker in Hardy’s poem looks back at a love that has died, whereas Byron’s poem concentrates on an attraction that has only just begun.
Hardy’s poem sets out to downplay the effect the person has on them. Byron’s poem fully acknowledges and expresses that effect.
Neutral Tones focuses on a memory of something in the past; She Walks In Beauty is about a more recent and immediate encounter
The poems are different in tone. The title of Hardy’s claims it is neutral but there is a distinct air of regret about it. Byron’s poem is mostly positive and celebratory.