In The Going and Your Last Drive Hardy tries to portray the effects loss has on the one left behind.

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Angus Frew                        

The sudden loss of a loved one can reveal that a seemingly intimate, idyllic relationship can in fact be complex, distant and lifeless. Thomas Hardy attempts to portray this idea in his works “The Going” and “Your Last Drive”. In “The Going” Hardy illustrates that a feeling of wistful, nostalgic regret results from concentrating on the negative aspects of lost relationships. In “Your Last Drive” however he indicates that although there may be no afterlife, the dead live on in our memories and through imaginative recreation. Hardy manages to depict these concepts through his intricate control of language.

Sudden, unexpected loss can leave one grief stricken, isolated and melancholic. A sense of frustration and blame is created by Hardy in the first stanza of “The Going”. Hardy questions his lost loved one asking “why did you give no hint” that she was about to pass away. Angry that she didn’t alert him to her imminent death, Hardy harshly blames her using the adverb “why”. His loved one is said to have been “indifferent quite”. She ignored his feelings, possibly unconcerned about, and uncaring towards him, as depicted by the adjective “indifferent”. This feeling Hardy might have returned. Hardy uses euphemisms such as “where I could not follow” as he doesn’t wish to accept his loved one’s passing. He attempts to escape reality and isolate himself from the real world; obviously hurt deeply by her death. In the second stanza Hardy begins to grieve and lament. Hardy says how she “never…bid goodbye”. He is sorry that she didn’t say farewell to him. This portrays Hardy differently; not angry and blaming but rather sorrowful and regretful. Hardy is said to have been “unknowing” of her passing and how it “altered all”. The alliteration of “altered all” draws attention to huge impact of the death on Hardy. A feeling of torment is created in the third stanza as Hardystates that she made him “think that for a breath it is you I see”. Hardy momentarily believes he sees his wife; his eyes are seeing what he wants, to be able to view his wife again. The alliteration of “darkening dankness” portrays Hardy’s state of mind: bleak, sombre and gloomy. However in the end Hardy only sees “yawning blankness” which “sickens” him, illustrating his intense yearn for another moment with her. The comfort and support of a loving relationship can be easily lost due to negligence. 

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A feeling of wistful, nostalgic regret results from concentrating on the negative aspects of lost relationships. Returning back to the early years of their relationship, Hardy attempts to remember the positives of their marriage in the fourth stanza. He describes how his wife (“the swan-necked one”) would “muse and eye” him. The verb “muse” shows that Hardy was captivated by her youth and beauty. In the fifth stanza, in contrast to the previous, Hardy turns to the negatives in their marriage, wondering why they didn’t revive the original joys. Hardy asks “why…did we not speak”, illustrating their neglect. Hardy wonders why they didn’t remember ...

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