Nevertheless, the second stanza brings forth a transition from the present into Hardy’s past, the beginning of his relationship with Emma. It begins with a wistful question ‘Can it be you that I hear?’, again drawing a direct address to the woman the poem is dedicated to. This question demonstrates both his desire to communicate with Emma, as well as an expression of confusion mixed with hope. His delight at the memory of the past – ‘Where you would wait for me: yes, as I knew you then’ – is emanated through the break in the line, in addition to adding ‘yes’ immediately after, which implied Hardy’s pleasure in reminiscing the moment. His memory is detailed and vivid because he specifies the exact colour of her ‘air-blue gown’. However, in saying ‘air-blue’, an imagery of an invisible matter is also featured, suggesting a non-physical, ethereal presence instead.
The third stanza illustrates Hardy’s confusion by using a tone of uncertainty, reinforced by the entire stanza being one long question. The voice is simply a breeze of ‘listlessness’, hinting that the weakness of the wind has ‘ever dissolved’, a metaphor for Emma’s death where her spiritual presence is forever absorbed into the universe, unable to return and hence nothing can be done in recovering the relationship. The poet describes her death as ‘to wan wistlessness’, creating an alliteration of the sound ‘w’ as well as sibilance that recreates the sound of the breeze; therefore highlighted the impression of her unearthly existence. The stanza closes with a dejected thought of how her voice will be ‘heard no more again, far or near’. The finality of that thought is accentuated by the all inclusiveness of the statement with the mixture of ‘no more’, ‘again’ and ‘far or near’.
Hardy returns the poem to his present by beginning the final stanza with ‘Thus I’. He describes himself as ‘faltering forward’, where the stuttering sound of the alliteration supports the idea of the instability in his life now that he realizes that Emma has gone forever. He goes on to write about the ‘leaves around me falling’, the autumn imagery suggesting an obvious change in his life as well as a possible decay into his own death. The illustration of the wind ‘oozing thin through the thorn’ also demonstrates a certain hardship and discomfort, an implication of his future life. The last line then deepens the idea of the haunting of his wife’s memory in his mind, where ‘the woman calling’ – in using present continuous tense – will be ongoing and even unrelenting. The simplicity of the line – as like the opening line in the first stanza – powerfully and memorably captures his final feelings of loneliness, regret and desperation.
In conclusion, ‘The Voice’ is dedicated to the poet’s yearn for his late wife, which is emphasized by mournful sounds and ghostly imagery. His mindset is clearly demonstrated throughout, a conflicted set of emotions flicking between nostalgia and anger and sadness. Nonetheless, this poem not only expresses Hardy’s state of mind, but also bears timeless testimony to the plight of many people who live with consequences of personal mistakes never to be rectified. Hardy, in composing ‘The Voice’, has indelibly captured this experience of the human situation.
by
nahclyrehc (student)
