One of the ways that one can tell that Neutral Tones is about a concluding relationship is by the figurative language. For example, line nine declares “The smile on her face was the deadest thing”. By using the word “deadest,” Hardy has suggested that the connection between the two is dying; had he used the words “happiest” or “warmest”, it would have changed the message of the phrase totally and would have suggested that the relationship was content.
Hardy also uses the word grey often. As grey is associated with neutral and endings but not the end, it suggests that the relationship is coming to an end, whereas if he had used the word ‘black’ it would have changed the meaning, as black has connotations of endings, death and insecurity. On the other hand, if Hardy had used the words ‘red’ or ’pink, it would have given the impression of the relationship being in an earlier stage, i.e. the lust stage; this is because love and lust are associated with such colours.
Also, on line four Hardy writes, “they had fallen form an ash and were grey.” Hardy has used the ash tree for a certain reason, this being the fact that the ash tree is a symbol of love. Because Hardy had said that the leaves on the tree were falling and grey one would presume that the couples love is also ‘falling,’ therefore, the reader believes that the couples’ relationship is falling apart.
Browning also presents the stage of love the couple is in with figurative language. The lust stage of love is about rushing about and excitement; he represents this with words such as, ‘startled’, ‘leap’, ‘fiery’ etc. If one were to change the words to ‘calmed’, ‘roll’ and ‘dull’, it would change the meaning of the stanza entirely. Line eight reads, ‘Three fields to cross till a farm appears.’ By writing this, Browning is suggesting that the couple is deeply in love. This is because the first person in this poem is shown to love the second person enough to want to travel over three fields. Therefore, Browning is, again, presenting the lust stage of love because the couple is willing to do anything for each other and this is presenting the stereotypical ‘in love’ couple.
There are other ways that Browning and Hardy present love. Both authors use Tense to create effect in their poems.
Browning used present tense to suggest that the relationship is taking place now. In line five, he wrote, “As I gain the cove with pushing prow.” This creates the effect that what the couple is doing is happening now. By using the present tense, Browning is again suggesting that the pair is in the lust stage of their relationship as one associates lust with the present tense.
Hardy used the past tense in his poem. The past tense implies that something is at an end; in this case, the lust and love stages are in the past and the relationship is over. It is as though Hardy is looking back to the day when he decided to end a relationship with someone. This is because his poem is very story like and as though he is telling it from his own experience, it is like he is telling us what happened and how by using certain words with specific connotations.
Another way in which Browning and Hardy present love in their poems is by using different seasons. Every season, like colours, have a different meaning. Spring means new beginnings, birth and the beginning of a relationship; summer means happiness, joy, warmth, love – the lust stage of a relationship. Autumn has the meanings of losing hope, the beginning of the end – the dying stage of a relationship and finally Winter, which means the end, death, coldness, sadness – the end of a relationship. Even without thinking about it, everyone has these associations, or similar, for the seasons.
The reader knows by phrases such as ‘warm scented beach’ that Browning has used summer as the season for his poem. This gives the meaning of the relationship being in the warm, lust stage. By doing this, Browning is presenting love with a season.
Hardy uses winter to portray love in his poem. This tells the reader that the relationship is at an end. It could also mean that the couple has cold feelings towards each other, as winter is the coldest season. This portrays the stage of love as it tells you what the couple is feeling towards each other and what stage of love they are in.
Comparing a line from each poem, ‘And the startled waves that leap’ (Meeting at night) and ‘And the pond edged with greyish leaves.’ (Neutral Tones), The reader can differentiate between the two types of love in the poems. The pond, in Hardy’s poem, represents a still relationship, one that is not going anywhere, whereas in Browning’s poem, he writes about the see, which has more life about it as it is constantly moving, therefore showing that the relationship also has more life about it and is constantly moving.
In addition, Browning and Hardy have used various paces to present the relationship.
The pace in Browning’s poem is quite fast. He rarely gives the reader time to breathe and carries on sentences throughout the lines so that the readers’ eyes have to quickly carry on to the next line; this has a connection with how the two people must feel in this poem. This is because they are running around in secret, therefore they must feel that they have little time to breathe and that they must do things quickly in concession as they have to make the most of their time together. He seldom uses full stops and lets the sentences carry on throughout the lines. This gives the feeling of the poem becoming faster towards the end, as the reader needs to say the lines quickly before he/she runs out of breath. This gives the impression of the lust stage of the relationship. This is because lust is the fastest stage of the connection between a couple. It is where the heart beats fast every time you see the partner, where a couple run around with each other and when you feel as if they have no time to breath, hence the fact of Browning not letting the reader breathe.
