Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

"I Said to Love" by Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy

Edwardian Era (1901-1914)

  • Was a very cynical man
  • Writing style reflects his grief
  • Came to many realizations about love

Stanza 3(15-21)

  • Marks the end of the Victorian Era
  • Followed by World War I

Social

  • Rise of working class voice

Political

  • General Election of 1906

Religious

  • Science and technology becomes superior over religion

What do you think Hardy means when saying "No faery darts, no cherub air?"

STANZA 3 ANNOTATIONS

  • This stanza is more desperate and negative.

What literary device is used in line 20, "And iron daggers of distress?"

  • Love is not young nor fair due to the fact that love is not forever or beautiful like youth is.

STANZA 1 ANNOTATIONS

  • "No faery darts, no cherub air": Love is not angel-like.
  • He is speaking to Love as if it is his deceased wife.
  • Love contains impurities due to its imperfections.
  • His life was different when his love (Emma) was alive.

He means that Love is not as amazing or as exotic as people perceive it to be.

  • There is a short pause after "thine" (caesura), making a shift to a more cruel, harsh view towards love when comparing it to "daggers of distress."
  • He admired his wife more than anyone else in his life.

Background: Hardy did not have any kids, suggesting his desire to have a boy. "The Boy, the Bright, the One." (alliteration)

Stanza 1 (Lines 1-7)

The literary device is alliteration.

  • "Heaven" is referred to, describing the feeling of love.

What is the rhyme scheme?

Why are the words "Love, Boy, Bright, and One" capitalized?

The rhyme scheme is ABBACCA.

Love is capitalized because Hardy is personifying love. Boy is capitalized to refer to an important person Hardy desired to have in his life. Bright and One are capitalized to relate to the Boy as being the One to bring light into his darkness.

Stanza 2 (Lines 8-14)

- Who is "him" referring to in the first line of this stanza?

- What does Hardy mean when he says,

"We clamoured thee that thou would'st please

Inflict on us thine agonies?"

"Him" is referring to love.

Hardy means that Love is supposed to bring him satisfaction, but instead brings the opposite.

STANZA 2 ANNOTATIONS

  • Love is made masculine.

"I Said To Love" Summarized

  • His feelings toward Love changed.

Stanza 4( Lines 22-31)

  • The poem is written with progression.
  • Love blinded his judgement.
  • He thought Love would bring satisfaction to him.

STANZA 4 ANNOTATIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • He realizes the pain that Love brought him and how it inflicted "agonies" on him.

Is there a shift in tone? If so, what is it?

  • Hardy uses an exclamation point in the first line to express his anger and desire for him wanting love to leave.
  • "I said to Love" is repeated throughout the poem in almost every stanza to emphasize the different subjects in each stanza and the 1st point of view.

“Thomas Hardy.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/thomas-hardy.

  • Men don't stand a chance between the power and danger of love.

“Edwardian Era Society and Daily Life of the Edwardians.” Victorian Era Life in England. Victorians Society & Daily Life, www.victorian-era.org/edwardian-era-society.html.

  • Love is threatening to future generations because people are blinded by the reality of it.

PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/manorhouse/edwardianlife/royalty.html.

  • Due to his realizations, he has learned what love's threat was and is no longer fearful of it.

Winslow, Donald J. “The First Mrs Thomas Hardy, and: The Second Mrs Hardy (Review).” Biography, University of Hawai'i Press, 24 June 2010, muse.jhu.edu/article/373015.

  • He has been emotionless for some time due to his grief, so he wanted to close doors to every emotion, including love.
  • The moral lesson is that people are oblivious to how harsh love can actually be.
  • Man will die eventually, and love cannot persist without man.

“Rupert Brooke.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, 22 July 2014, www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/thomas-hardy.

  • He is okay with the fact that mankind will cease as long as love also ceases.

Yes; Hardy is showing greater anger towards

love than ever before in the poem. "Depart then, Love!

  • Hardy feels as if man should become powerful over love.

Closing Activity

PUZZLE PALOOZA!

Each side of the room receives one puzzle that they must piece together.

After the puzzle is completed, figure out how the picture relates to Thomas Hardy's feelings toward Emma when he is writing this poem.

Whoever completes the tasks first is the winner!!!

Marwah Khan & Grace Weinsheimer

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi