This is an early poem written in 1867. The words 'Neutral Tones' in the title paint a picture drained
of colour. And Hardy starts the poem with two people in the now-failed relationship, 'We',
immediately followed by a whole verse that paints a picture of where they were standing, by a pond
on a winter's day. The second verse looks at the woman's eyes and the boredom in them, and
remembers the desultory words between the two people, the communication that is no longer a
pleasure. The third looks at the dead smile on the woman's mouth, the smile that is no longer alive
and joyous. In the last verse, Hardy notes that whenever he experiences a painful reminder of
deceiving love, he pictures the woman's face, and the winter landscape by the pond.
The setting is a winter landscape and the poem describes the winter of their love. There are no
colours, except for 'white', 'gray' and 'grayish'; there is no warmth in the sun or in their
relationship, no emotions except for tedium ('tedious riddles') and bitterness. The rhyme scheme is
ABBA, a pattern that encloses, entraps, allows no way forward; the first and last lines of the
quatrains rhyme and thus they imprison the verse. In fact, the whole poem is shaped like this, as the
last verse repeats the description of the first verse by the pond, with the God-curst sun and the tree.
The rhythm of the lines is inconsistent, halting and stumbling, going nowhere like the relationship.
This is particularly the case in lines like: 'They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.'
The poem is filled with words of depression and death: 'dead', 'chidden', 'God-curst', 'starving',
'ominous', bitterness', 'lost', 'tedious', 'fallen'. Further evoking the painful experience of the end
of a relationship, in the third verse, oxymorons provide strange yokings, pairings of words that
should not be together, like 'deadest thing / Alive' and 'a grin of bitterness'.
The sounds and rhythms add to the impression of depression and lack of vitality. Assonance and
alliteration link words and sounds, and the sound is devoid of energy and vitality. In verse 4, the
'ee' sound links 'keen' (painful), 'deceives', 'me', 'tree', 'leaves' - in other words, the heartache of
love is linked in Hardy's mind and in his poem to the winter setting. Alliteration links 'wrings'
with 'wrong'. The rhythm of the poem lurches beyond the second line and stumbles to a cesura
after 'Your face', staggers on again through heavily stressed monosyllables 'and the God-curst sun'
to the next cesura. It drags itself through this listless list 'and a', 'and a', and finally peters out with
the halting rhythms of 'And a pond edged with grayish leaves.' Many of the words in this last
verse are monosyllables; several contain heavy sounds with weighty ds and gs: 'deceives', 'pond',
'edged', 'grayish'.
The tone of this poem seems both bitter and profoundly depressed. It's written in the first person,
but feels strangely detached to me - perhaps because this is a relationship that no longer involves
the persona. It is unclear whether the poet is simply stating a fact or whether he is blaming himself
or the woman. Is the poem primarily about himself, or about the pain of love?
"Neutral Tones" is a poem written by Thomas Hardy in 1867.
Mandarin Chinese has the most tones in its phonetic system, with four main tones and a neutral tone.
The product is available in various color tones such as warm, cool, neutral, and vibrant options.
Ms. Thomas sings tones
The six tones in Mandarin Chinese are flat, rising, falling-rising, falling, high-rising, and neutral.
Some poems related to 'love betrayed' within the theme of Plena Timoris include "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot, "When You Are Old" by W.B. Yeats, and "Neutral Tones" by Thomas Hardy. These poems explore the theme of love that has been broken or disillusioned.
You should use earth tones or neutral colors with wood floors.
Mostly neutral colored tones such as beige, creme, black, gray, navy, brown, and white. They are very classy as opposed to flashy. These suits come in very work and professional-appropriate tones. Neutral colors are a great staple of a wardrobe because they never go out of fashion and that saves on clothing costs.
There are four tones called first,second,plus one additional tone that consists in not having one(轻声). The first two are called 平声(ping sheng) the last two are called 仄声(ze sheng)
Mandarin is said to have four main tones and one neutral tone (or, as some say, five tones). Each tone has a distinctive pitch contour which can be graphed using the Chinese 5-level system. The first tone is high and level.
Any haircolor that says Neutral blond . This way you will not get any yellow or red tones.
No, warm neutral light is a mix of warm and cool tones, creating a balanced light whereas warm white light is a more traditional warm light. Warm neutral light can provide a more natural and comfortable lighting experience compared to warm white light.