Comment closely on the following poem Essay

The Self-Un projecting portrays Hardy reminiscing over his childhood spirit with his parents. In the first stanza, the place their old house is described in a way that conveys a sense of age and weariness, through much(prenominal) words and phrases as ancient (emphasizing the age), footworn and hollowed and thin (alluding to the emptiness which has overtaken it through the loss of time after it has been abandoned), former (revealing the extent of change in the house, eg. by the door no longer being there), and dead feet (those of his parents).At this point in time in the poetry Hardy speaks in the present tense from the away of the house, in order to convey its emptiness to the reader. The second stanza ignores these aspects of the house, instead counseling on his memories of his parents, which contrast with the first stanza by filling the house with flavour and action. A happier mood is created here, through a sense of warmth created by the fire, and his mothers smile, wh ich, along with his fathers playing the violin (bowing it higher and higher), shows the happiness he felt time living with his parents.The musical effect of the violin is also complemented by that of the smooth-flowing abab create verbally dodge. The present tense verbs smiling and bowing imply that these memories were vivid, as if by introducing the setting to the reader he is reliving them. Hardys pen to his parents using the pronouns she and he rather than their actual names transforms the personal calamity of the death of his parents to a universal one to which the reader mint much easily relate.However, this tragedy is buried beneath the warm, welcoming mood effected by the aforementioned use of language in this stanza. Hardy illuminates these memories in the final stanza with erupt imagery blessings (which tend to be associated with heaven and thereof light), day, glowed, gleam, which underscore the joyful feelings previously evoked. This use of light imagery serves as a metaphor to reveal how Hardy, childlike, danced in a dream, and overall, the diction shows that his memories had a dazzling and pensive quality.However, it can be chancen from the concluding line, Yet we were looking away , that he feels rueful for not fully appreciating what he had at the time. It is this line which gives meaning to the poetrys title he (the self) was unseeing and could not see the true value of his life with his parents. This makes the light imagery all the more powerful, as Hardy uses it to show that he is now able to see what he was unable to in his childhood.His newfound appreciation for his memories is also unpatterned in the first stanza, where here is and here was sorrowfully reveal the setting of which he is about to reminisce. Overall, Hardys memories are presented in this rime with both tribulation and happiness. The phrase hollowed and thin in the first stanza, in light of this herb of grace, describes the likely state of his soul followin g the loss of his parents.The regret is subtle at first, but becomes much more apparent after reading the last line it is as if Hardy uses this line to impart the reader to look back (as he had looked back on his past) and be filled with regret through this reflection. The past-tense verbs walked, sat, and stood, which are simply describing what erstwhile was, become tinged with regret (as if mourning) upon a second glance. In contrast, the passive verbs danced, emblazoned, and glowed write their cheerful connotations, which suggest that to Hardy, reminiscence is a bittersweet experience.This idea is back up by the structure of the poem three quatrains with abab rhyme schemes although the rhyme scheme establishes a sense of reminiscence, there are emotions both positive and negatively charged associated with it. The simple pattern of it also mirrors the simplicity and naivety of childhood. The structure, rhythm, and diction of the poem thus convey a powerful message that pleas ant experiences pass on eventually become memories, carrying both the happiness of their past occurrence and the regret and sadness of knowing that their time is past.