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Keiko ^{Harada :Time and Memory inThornas} Hardy'sPoetry

Time

Memory

in Thomas Hardy's Poetry

Keiko Harada

Introduction

- Time is^{a ` chisel '-}

InThomas Hardy's_poetry,Time is^often described^as having^{a ` chisel '.} In^" In_a

Eweleazenear Wetherbury ^", the speaker, confronting the same scene where he ^and his loverdancedtogetheryears ^ago, becomes aware of hisunchangeable leveforthegirl

`I^{remain what} Iwas then^' while hecannot helpbeingconscious of his_physicalage :

YetI^note the little^chis61

Of never-napping Tirne Defacing^{wan and} _grizzel

The blazonof ^my prime.

The speaker confesses thatat ^{night when} heissleeping, hefeelsTime ^`boringslyfWithin

my bones,^and heaping/Quaintestpains forby-and-by^'.

In^" The Revisitation^", Time isalso referred to as a sculptor using a chisel with which heconstantly curves linesinthe fleshof the speaker, Meeting theapparition of his

past lovercalled Agnette,theprotagonist^of thepoem becomesaware of how aged she has become,^although he isin_{an ecstatic} joy^{forthe firstfew minutes. He has tofacethe}

reality thatthe person he^remembered tobebeautifulisactually an old woman whom ,..Time's transforming chisel .

Had beentoolingnight and day fortwenty years, ^and tooledtoo well,

Initsrendering of crease where curve was, where was raven, grizzle Pits,where peonies^once diddwell.

As ^{we can see clearly} inthetwo examples above, Hardy ^{was very much} concerned about Beautydecaying.The disillusionmentof discoveringthe cruel rea]ity of ^` ideal^'

beautyfadingaway forms a frequenttheme inHardy's_poeticalworks, especially inhis

earlier poetry.(i) Whi]e beingextremely sensitive to change and transitionof beauty, however,Hardy ^{was obsessed with searching} for^something continuous, something un- changeable insidehismind. To Hardy, the past issecretly written down inthe organic matter of one's mind and would never disappear,just^{as historicalevents are stored up in}

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layersintheearth. The tissueofone's ^mind is,therefore,^{where all}thepast^{memories are} interwoven. One just^{hastolookat one's own mind todigup what ishiddeninit.The mind}

contains what is^called the ^`placid permanence'^{where the past,the present,the} future

exist in^`datelessdure^'.(2)

^Tom Paulinhas_pointed out thatHardy once explained hischaracteristic curiosity about themysterious functionofone's ^{mind, memory,} using theword ^`palimpsest^', Hardy

said that ^`the human^mind is^{a sort of} pa]impsest,I ^{suppose; and} it'shardto say what records may not lurkinit^'.C3) Memory istheact of ^mind or consciousness inreading the images or impressionswhich hav,ebeenwritten down on thepalimpsest^{one after another.}

Hardy is_poignantlyaware of Time'schisellingpower and explores the^mysterious

realm of hismind to6stablish^{a world where Time hasno} power. Hardy ^{once said} that

`Time

changes everything ^{except something within} us ^which is always ^surprised

by^{change '.(`}</sup>Inthemysterious, inner<sup>world of one's</sup> mind, Time stands still,<sup>"</sup> ILook Into My Glass",forexample, points<sup>out that what made</sup> Hardy <sup>`grieve'} isthe unsoluble contradiction that`Time...Part steals,letspart^{abide ', Inspite of hisold age,} Hardy

still feelsthat`youngpassien'stays inhis^mind. Inthepoem thespeaker confesses that

hefeels^as ifhe^{were occupied} by two differenttimes of day,^{daytime and night, standing} foryouth ^{and old age.} He says that^Time-

,,. shakes thisfragileframe at eve With throbbing ofnoontide,

Hardy's poetry ^{of memory can} be said to be a representation of the poet's ^ecstatic

experience inconfronting ^what time`lets part^abide'in hismind. Inthisessay,Iwill exarnine how Hardy,beingconscious of the destructivepower of Time, succeeded in

representing forus theeternal vision of personal^memory.

(1)The _problem of ^memory

Through theprocess ^of remembering, what Hardy aimed at was to preserve the

imagesof thedeadpeople ^{who were closely connected with} him, Hardy gave^{them, as} it

were, a secend lifebyremembering and ^restoring theirimagesinhis_poetry. The ideathat the dehdgain ^a second lifeipsomebody's mind intheform of memory means more than

simply a sentimental melancholy inHardy's poetry.It^can be^{a substitute} fortheChristiari ideaof lifeafter death,which was viewed ^with increasingscepticism among intellectuals inHardy's time.

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Keiko Harada:Time and Memory inThomas Hardy'sPoetry Eventhough Hardy _was broughtup ina devotedreligious familyand hehimselfwas

deeplyinvolvedin^{religious ceremonies as a musician of} StinsfordChurchinhisbirthplace, by 1866he had losthisfaithinChristiandoctrine.The Church,however,_provided him

`with hisearliest awareness of thebeautyand excitement ef language^allied tomusic, his firstoverwhe]ming sense of themagic and sanctity of the word ^' forthe^rest of hislife.^<5) Hardy'sattachment to the church is,therefore,very emotional, but^not deeply

connected with real faithinGod.As J.O.^Baileyhasput it,^`all hislifeHardy continued

tolookforGod ^'.(6) Hardy ^confesses inhislater_years that ^`Ihave beenlookingforGod

50years,^andIthink thatifhehadexistedIshould havediscoveredhim^'.{') The sense of

lossof faithiswell describedinseveral poems ^:" God-Forgotten^{", "} A PIainttoMan ^{" or}

" God'sFuneral^".

Inthesepoems, it^ischaracteristic of Hardy thatGod isgiven^a human voice, human

emotions and feelings.Divinity,absoluteness, and righteousness are ^not tobe foundin

Hardy's image of God.^" God-Forgotten^" illustratestheChristianGod havingforgotten

thatHe had created theearth and human beings.^" A PIainttoMan ^" is^a _poem in^which God complains about theprocess^of beingforgottendaybyday.God says that He is,after al-1,only a creation of human imagination.He accuses Man, saying

Wherefore,O Man, didthere come toyou The unhappy need of creating me

^{A forlnlikeyour own forpraying to}?

He isa ^{`</sup>man-projected Figure <sup>' (8)</sup><sub>as</sub>heisalso describedin<sup>"</sup> God'sFuneral<sup>",</sup> In<sup>`}Time's

stayless stealthy swing ^' (9)

,God ^would disappearcpmpletely. The truth of life^{would never} beknown by any helpwhich is^`visioned ^' or imaginedtocome fromProvidence,but^only from thehuman heart'sresources.

Hardy'sexploration inthemysterious realm of hisown mind was consciously or unconsciously related with Hardy's_great disillusienment^with Christianity.Instead of searching forthetruthoflifeinan illusion,Hardy turned his^eyes tosornething more closer tohim,something hecould really examine and possessforhimself.Insteadofvisualising e'ternal lifeinthe union with the Holy Spirit,^Hardy presents^thepossibility^of livingforthe

second time after one's deathin^{somebody's mind.Cro)}

The ^more hebecomes occupied ^with theidea^of thesecond life,however,the^more threatening itseems te Hardy that memory isalso doomed to fadeaway, when the possessor ^of thememory dies,Inmost of hispoetry, Hardy facesdisillusionment,realising

thatpastimagesdon't^remain forever^{and are} destinedto die^away, either as timegoes by,

NII-Electronic Library Service or by thedeathof thememory-carrier. ^C`Her Immortality^", forinstance,illustratesthe

fearof the second deathof theonce-dead. Inthepoem, the speaker rneets hisdeadlover

again in^hisimagination. The _speaker moans thatshe ^cannot beretrieved from ^oblivion.

The ghost lover_answers thatshe is^enly a`shade'now, buthas_gained immortalityinthe

speaker's rnind, and she says that

By living,^me you keep alive, By dyingyou^{slay me,}

She ^consoles thespeaker of the poem ^{who was} in^a dejected^{mood : `}I^{will not} die,^my Oneof ^all !

To lengthenout thy days

I'11_guard ^me from ^minutest harms

That may investmy ways !^'

The speaker of thepoem, however, grieves^more, forhe _cannot help worrying ^.., When ^Isurcease,

Through ^whom alone livesshe, Her spirit ends itslivinglease, Never again tobe!

In^" HisImmortality^", we can tracetheseveral stages through which memory of a

dead^{friendfades away. First,thenarrator of the}poem ^sees thedead^{man's `}finer_part /

Shining^{within each} faithfulheartfOfthosebereft^', As ^{`</sup>theSeasons<sup>wore ',</sup>thespeaker stillsees the dead<sup>man's</sup> soul stillcontinuously bearing a <sup>[life</sup> intheirs<sup>',</sup> though <sup>`}lessits

shine excelled /^{Than when Ifirstbeheld'. Inlater}years,thespeaker says thathelooked forthedeadman's imagesagain. He found them ^{much `</sup>shrunk <sup>'</sup> into<sup>`}a thinand spectral mannikin ^'. As the speaker grew ^older, the images ^of the dead friendhad completely

disappearedfromthe^{minds of other} friendsand were foundonly inthespeaker's mind like

a <sup>`</sup>feeblespark, /<sup>Dying amid thedark', As " The</sup> To-Be-Forgotten<sup>"</sup> shows, Hardy could not denythattheimagesof thedeadpeopleare firstkept in`memory'but then`oblivion's swallowing sea' buriesthem indarkness.

^{" The} Ghost^of thePast^" presents^Hardy's conscipusness ofthe images of hisdead parentsgraduallyfadingaway fromhismind, The _peem starts bydescribinghow intimate

Hardy was with ^{`</sup>thePast<sup>',</sup> personifying <sup>`}thepast ^' as someone Hardy shared hishouse

with:

We two kepthouse,thePast and I, The Pastand I;

Through ^{all my} tasks ithovered nigh,

Leaving ^{me never alone.}

It^{was a spectral} housekeeping

Where fellno jarring^tone,

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Keiko Harada:Time and Memory inThomas Hardy'sPoetry As strange, as stilla housekeeping

As ^ever hasbeenknown.

The Pastwhich isrepresented ･intheform ^{of spectral} _parentsand thePresentsymbolised

by "I"

are unlted inthespace of the house,and heightenedtoa mysterious experience of

time :

As daily^Iwent up the stair And down the stair_,

Ididnot mind the Bygone there The Present^once to me;

Itsmoving meek companionship

I^wished might ever be,

There was inthatcompanionship

Somethingof ecstasy.

The image of hisparents ^which had dwelt^with Hardy ^{`just</sup> as itwas', however,cannot escape Time's<sup>`}stayless stealthy swing ^'. The form beginsto fade,and

..,so with time my visien less, Yea,less^and less

Makes of thatPast my housemistress, Itdwindlesinmy eye ;

Itloomsa far-offskeleton

And ^not acomrade nigh, A fitfulfar-offskeleton

Dimming ^as daysdraw by.

As the spectral vision which was once a ^`housemistress^' _of thepoet losesitsreality and

becomesa ^`far-offskeleton ^', thePastand thePresent,^{which were} fusedintoa harmonious

way of livingHardy and hisspectral parents^{shared, are also} disihtegrated,The Past is

now far^away fromthe present^moment, The intima¢y,thetangibility,thewarmth Hardy feltinthespectre are also disappearing,The _pastnessof thepastis_peignant]yfeltat the

end of the poem. Oncea`comrade nigh <sup>',</sup> now itistoo`far-off' even to distinguishits form,

^" At ^a SeasideTown in1869^" isanether case inwhich can beseen the developing

stages of memory fading^away into^oblivion. Inthepoem, thesteady image of a girl^the

narrator of thepoeln findsinsidehimself^and theceaselessly changing world of theoutside are juxtaposed^{tomake a sharp contrast.} The ^narrator feels^agitated when helooksou,t at the secular world, ^{`</sup>the free/<sup>Lifeby the sea,</sup> /<sup>And</sup> folkindifferentto me <sup>',</sup> while comforted and eased when hedraws within <sup>`}where 1^{Butshe was ',} As thenarrator's mind

becomesmore and more attracted totheoutside merriment, however,what was thoughtto

beabiding eternally inhismind starts dwindling. When the narrator realises that^` this outside life/Shall^not endure ^' and when helooksforthe girlinsidehimselfagain, scanning

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` with keen care ^', hecannot findherany ^more : Isoughtand ^seught. But O her^soul

Has not since thrown Upon ^my own

One beam!Yea, she isgone, isgone.

(2)^The eternalisation of memory

Memory byitselfis^only a shadow. Itneeds tobe^{recreated and reviewed as a full}

reality and as an experience efhereand now, inorder toassume eternal value, Hardy,in his_poetry,seems tohave approached theeternalisation of memory intwo different^ways.

One istoexternalise ^what ishiddenunderneath theconscious level^of mind. The other is tore-value thepast^experience inthe^{context of} thepresent,in^{other words,} tore-interpret what hashappenedinterms^{of the} present^condltion inwhich the poetfindshimself.

Inthe externalisation ef memory, ^`space' becomes an essential element. As the

`four-dimentional^'continuum inEinstein'stheorycannot ^{exist without} theco-ordination of time and space, Hardy's re-construction of memory isdeterminedby applying mental

energy to^{re-unite what} is_purelytime-bound,i.e.,^{memory, with spatial images,landscaPe}

and objects. As theGerman physicistHermann Minkowski,speculating on thefateof space and time as separate dimensions^of experience, announced, ^` timebyitself^{and space}

'byitselfare doomed tofadeaway intomere shadows, and only a kind^{of union} ofthetwo

will preserve ^an independent^{reality '.On} The best^of Hardy'spoetry^{of memory reveals} its

powerful truth^{when memories are recaptured as a} fullexperience inthefourdimensions

of time and space.

^Inthe reinterpretatien of thepast,^{on the other} hand,Hardy ^{reprinted a} past^scene upon hismind again se thathe^could findthehidden^{message itmight contain.} Inhislater

years,^after hisfirst^wife Emma died,^Hardy quite^often lookedbacktothedaysheshared with herand dug^up what he^{hadnever noticed inthe}past. Lookingbackfromthepresent,

Hardy,forthefirsttime,^{realised that}past ^{scenes were} full^of predictions^of the future

drama ^of hislife.Havinggone throughyears,Hardy ^can clearly see that^thepast isnot simply what has^happened butthatitalso ^reveals layersof meaning which connect thepast

with thepresent consciousness ofhismind.

- _a- The externalisation of the past

The ^most impressive,^most distinguishedpoem ^among Hardy'svarious memory-

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Keiko Harada:Time _and Memory inThomas Hardy'sPoetry poems ^are the _ones in^which what isreserved inthe poet's^mind isfullYexternalised and re-apprehended as a present,^vivid experience, AlthoughHardy was deeplyinterestedin thehistory^of humanity^and eftheEarth,itwas tohisown memory thatHardy wanted to give immortalvalue. As ^" The Roman Road" ^well describes,Hardy _was emotionally

inclinedto read hisown past inhissurroundings, rather than a historical_past of other

beings.

The _{poem presents} Hardy walking along a Roman road, deeplyinvolvedina meditation upon Time. Itstarts ^with aremarkable simile of thehistoricalrelic, the^Roman Road,and a very common, domesticimage ^{of a} _partinglineinhair:

The Roman Road runs straight and bare

As thepale parting-Iine inhair Acrosstheheath. And thoughtfulmen

Contrastsitsdaysof Now and Then,

And delve,and measure, and compare ;

Now ^and Then are compressed intothe Roman Road and inspiresome people^{tosee `on}

thevacant air'`helmed legionaries'marchingagain on the road, Butthose <sup>`tall</sup> brass- helmedlegionnaires'don'thave ^{any value} to thepoet. Insteadof thehistoricalimage,

what Hardy sees is

A mother's form upon my ken,

Guiding^my infant^{steps, as when}

We walked thatancient thoroughfare,

The Roman Road.

In ^{a note} to the poem, F.B. Pinionexplains Hardy's characteristic method of

`infusing^emotion intothe blandestexternal objects either by the presence ^{of a} human

figureamong them, or by^{mark of seme} human ^{connection with} them ^',aM Itis,indeed,the

`infusion'of

hisemetion intoan[external ebject'that Hardy hasachieved inhispoetry of memory. Fusingwhat he_preserved inhismind with what he^sees, Hardy successfully

`reinstates memory inperception^'.{iM

When ^{we examine} the memory which isexternalised, there a]ways seems tobe ^a

similar quality^of timelessnessinthe original experience, Not _{every memory} can be

visualised again. The`deeper reality'Hardy tried to see inlandscape^Oa isthe image

which was impressed upon hismind as something eternal, beyondtimeand space. In^other

words, itisthe `impressions'imposed

upon the perceiver's ^{mind with`most} force and violence ^',CiS so thatthey are inscribedinthemind as a timeless_experience forever.Ciet What isretainable fromthepast,therefor'e,isoriginally an artistic experience, Past

scenes stay inHardy's _mind likeabstract paintings,^a timelessfusion^{of experience} and