Afterwards - Thomas Hardy

Question 1

What is a recurring motif in Afterwards 1st and last paragraph?

Answer 1

• door
• symbolizes the threshold between life and death
• sense of finality
• Hardy is left behind and forgotten

Question 2

What does Hardy think about life and death?

Answer 2

• life has a sense of transience
• death is a quick moment just like a ‘blink’, making it easy to miss and insignificant
• death is just a transition to a better afterlife
• certain that death is just a matter of time —> use of ‘When’ instead of ‘if’
• death is just a part of nature’s cycle which helps Hardy to come to terms with his own death
• Hardy is not concerned about death, but rather about his legacy

Question 3

Why does Hardy mention nature in Afterwards?

Answer 3

• nature represents the natural cycle of life and death
• Hardy wants to be remembered as a keen observer of nature (an animal activist?)
• nature reflects metamorphosis and vitality
• continuity of nature contrasts with the insignificance of man

Question 4

What does Hardy think of time/the Present?

Answer 4

• a force with agency over his life —> use of passive voice
• Present is personified by use of capitalization

Question 5

What does ‘rise’ in ‘this thought rise on those’ symbolize?

Answer 5

• resurrection (poet’s resurrection in having people reading his works)
• live on people’s minds

Question 6

What is one other concern of Hardy’s other than his legacy?

Answer 6

• Hardy as an animal activist
• doubt regarding whether his poems really helped animals
• suggests his futile attempts in poetry —> use of ‘little’ = not enough

Question 7

Structure and form of Hardy’s Afterwards?

Answer 7

• ABAB rhyme scheme: reliable rhyme shows certainty, creating a sense of inevitability
• regular meter: Hardy’s orderly deliberation amidst life’s unpredictability
• elegy: elegiac formality with a conversational tone