Works of Thomas Hardy discussion

At a Lunar Eclipse

Thy shadow, Earth, from Pole to Central Sea,
Now steals along upon the Moon’s meek shine
In even monochrome and curving line
Of imperturbable serenity.

How shall I link such sun-cast symmetry
With the torn troubled form I know as thine,
That profile, placid as a brow divine,
With continents of moil and misery?

And can immense Mortality but throw
So small a shade, and Heaven’s high human scheme
Be hemmed within the coasts yon arc implies?

Is such the stellar gauge of earthly show,
Nation at war with nation, brains that teem,
Heroes, and women fairer than the skies?

moil - hard labor, toil

At a Lunar Eclipse is in the collection Poems of the Past and the Present, published in 1901. It is thought that Hardy wrote the poem in the 1860s. A lunar eclipse was visible in Great Britain on September 13, 1867.

What an interesting and unusual choice, thanks Connie! I've linked it, but must return tomorrow as it's getting on for midnight now. I look forward to reading your (and others') comments 😊

This really instills a sense of awe in me, and I think Thomas Hardy is emphasising the timeless factor by using archaic words such as "thine" and "yon" - and also by writing in such a formal structure. This is an Italian sonnet - otherwise called a "Petrarchan" sonnet. Here is the definition of that form:

"a 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter, divided into an eight-line octave (ABBA ABBA) and a six-line sestet (CDECDE or CDCDCD). The octave typically introduces a problem or question, while the sestet offers a response, solution, or reflection."

Above all else, I feel Thomas Hardy wants us to see the grandeur of the eclipse, and realise just how insignificant we are in the scheme of things.

I am really enjoying this poem. Thank you Connie. I will write more later, as today is a busy, but I wanted to quickly give my first impression. What grabs me right away is how Hardy is melding science with nature. He’s looking at the shadows cast by heavenly bodies and exploring mankind’s darker side (war and toil).

Thanks, Jean and Bridget, for taking some time out on a holiday to enjoy the poem.

Jean, I love the illustration that you found, and I associate serenity with the moon.

Hardy has divided the octave and the sestet of the Italian sonnet in half so that he could ask three questions. He doesn't give us the answers, but the questions are things for us to ponder.

Years ago, my husband and I went out to dinner, and we found a group of people staring at the sky when we exited the restaurant. It was a cool, crisp night with a clear sky, and a lunar eclipse was in progress. The eclipse brought a bunch of strangers together in the parking lot viewing the moon on a beautiful night. I thought about the precision in the universe compared to the technology on earth. I also felt like we were so small compared to the enormity of the heavens, and I get the same feeling when I read Hardy's poem.

Do any of you have a special memory of an eclipse, or a favorite line in Hardy's poem?

Bionic Jean wrote: "This really instills a sense of awe in me, and I think Thomas Hardy is emphasising the timeless factor by using archaic words such as "thine" and "yon" - and also by writing in such ..."

Thank you Jean for the illustration. Also, for explaining the Petrarchan sonnet - using that form adds to the timelessness you noticed, I think.

I feel the smallness of humans in lines like "And can immense Mortality but throw/So small a shade"

Connie wrote: "Years ago, my husband and I went out to dinner, and we found a group of people staring at the sky when we exited the restaurant. It was a cool, crisp night with a clear sky, and a lunar eclipse was..."

That's a beautiful memory, Connie - thank you for sharing that. I have strong memories of solar eclipses, but not of lunar ones. Though I can remember driving home late one night, across Lake Washington, during a "harvest moon" and the moon was a beautiful shade of orange. I'd never seen the moon that big. I thought it would swallow me up. I almost had to pull over and stop driving it was so mesmerizing. And it made me feel very small, and part of everything in the universe at the same time.

Are Harvest Moons also lunar eclipses??

Bridget, a harvest moon is the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox (about September 23). Near the time of the autumnal equinox, the angle of the Moon’s orbit relative to Earth’s horizon is at its minimum, causing the full moon to rise above the horizon much faster than usual.

It's not a lunar eclipse where the earth passes between the sun and the moon, and casts a shadow on the moon.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/harv...

I imagine that it would be helpful to farmers bringing in the harvest to have the extra light from the large full harvest moon to finish up their chores. The harvest moons were so bright last autumn that the light woke me up.

This is a lovely choice, Connie. I don't have a particular eclipse memory, but I do find the moon incredibly comforting. I think that started one night years ago when we were moving and driving a long haul with little sleep in the middle of the night, and I had the feeling of being protected by the presence of the moon always with me.

So given that, my favorite lines:
In even monochrome and curving line
Of imperturbable serenity.

Kathleen wrote: "This is a lovely choice, Connie. I don't have a particular eclipse memory, but I do find the moon incredibly comforting. I think that started one night years ago when we were moving and driving a l..."

That phrase is a beautiful expression of calmness and peace, Kathleen.

Thomas Hardy was keen on astronomy, and his novel Two on a Tower features a young amateur astronomer as a main character, and an ancient monument converted into an astronomical observation tower.

And you might remember in Far From the Madding Crowd that Gabriel Oak was very knowledgeable about the movement of the stars, and used this to tell the time. Thomas Hardy names several constellations and individual stars in those passages, plotting their courses accurately.

Connie wrote: "Bridget, a harvest moon is the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox (about September 23). Near the time of the autumnal equinox, the angle of the Moon’s orbit relative to Earth’s horizon is at it..."

Thank you so much for this Connie! It's good to be reminded of all that, which I learned somewhere in my education travels, and had forgotten :-)

And thank you Jean for reminding us about "Two on a Tower", that's a really great point! Hardy really did like astronomy, enough to write a whole book focused on it.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Thomas Hardy was keen on astronomy, and his novel Two on a Tower features a young amateur astronomer as a main character, and an ancient monument converted into an astro..."

I'm glad you mentioned Two on a Tower, Jean. Hardy was an architect who often worked with stone so he tried to be accurate when he was writing about a tower turned into an observatory in that novel. Of course, he also wanted the astronomical events to be accurate.

Dr Andrzej Diniejko has an article on the Victorian Web about "Star-Crossed Lovers and the Power of Astronomy in Thomas Hardy's Two on a Tower." It has spoilers for the novel so I'm not linking directly to it. He writes that Two on a Tower "provides an interesting description of modern scientific investigation, uses astronomical metaphors to show the discrepancy between the permanence of cosmic order and fragility of impermanent human existence. Hardy was an atheist who probably believed in an impersonal cosmic mind or a blind natural force that controls the universe without any compassion for individual human destinies."

In the poem Hardy contrasts an awesome, but scientifically predictable, astronomical event in the cosmos with the wars, moil, and misery on our small planet Earth.

Thanks for all these insights Connie!

Thank you everyone for your comments, in which you share your knowledge of poetry. It makes me read the poems in a different light.

Christina wrote: "Thank you everyone for your comments, in which you share your knowledge of poetry. It makes me read the poems in a different light."

Christina, we're glad you're reading Hardy's poetry with us. Werner just posted another Hardy poem this morning.