The Moth Signal Thomas Hardy Analysis

Nature is the pre-dominant source of theme and techniques in poetry in society. We see evidence of this within the works on Thomas Hardy. Nature is an important aspect of Hardy’s work. He uses nature in order to set the atmosphere of the poem, and uses external elements to mirror the internal emotions of the protagonist. Nature acts as a tool for Hardy to enhance imagination and reflect events and emotions. Nature also provides the poet with inspiration. Using nature to symbolize is one technique poets use in order to convey an idea or message that the poet wants to underline and express.
In Thomas Hardy’s poems ‘Neutral Tones’, ‘The Moth Signal’ and ‘The Darkling Thrush’ we see nature being used to portray these. The poem ‘Neutral Tones’ was written in 1867 which is part of Hardy’s collection of Wessex Poems and Other Verses. The poem is about the end of a relationship, and presents the protagonist’s emotions through the visual imagery and nature. The protagonist displays deep emotions which ironically contrast the feel and first impressions the title gives; ‘Neutral Tones’ uses neutral colours such as black, gray, and white in order to help the reader visualise the events in the poem; these colours also set the mood that the poet
The narrator begins using phrases like “love deceives” showing that internal pain is still present. The protagonist goes on to say that he was “shaped” by the “wrings with wrong”, which shows how much mental pain he has been through and that he has learnt from the relationship. Instead of referring to the sun as “white”, he now refers to it as the “God-curst sun”, showing that the protagonist’s emotions and attitude has changed from the previous stanzas. The final line “And a pond edged with greyish leaves” brings us back to the beginning of the poem; almost like it is a continuous