Wessex Poems and Other Verses

Wessex Poems and Other Verses (often referred to simply as Wessex Poems) is a collection of 51 poems set against the bleak and forbidding Dorset landscape by English writer Thomas Hardy. It was Hardy's first published collection of poetry and demarcated a shift in his output from prose to verse.[1] It was first published in London and New York in 1898 by Harper & Brothers, and contained a number of illustrations by the author himself.[2]

Reception

The collection met a broadly hostile reception, critics being accustomed to Hardy as a (controversial) writer of prose alone.[3] Hardy himself was taken aback by the failure to recognise his dry humour, as in the (slightly bawdy) 'Bride-Night Fire'.[4]

On a more personal note, his wife Emma disliked the section consisting of love lyrics to various recipients; and especially 'The Ivy Wife', which she felt aimed at her.[5]

Notable poems

Two notable early poems from the collection (1860s) were "Hap" and 'Amabel' - the latter exploring the theme of sexual attraction impacted by age taken up by The Well-Beloved.[6] 'She at His Funeral' was a tribute to Hardy's friend Horace Moule;[7] while the bitter "Neutral Tones" and the cheerful 'Sergeant's Song' show further aspects of Hardy's range of poetic subjects.[8]

See also

English Wikisource has original text related to this article:

References

  1. ^ "Wessex Poems and Other Verses". Penguin Books. Penguin Random House. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  2. ^ Hands, Tim (2018). "'A Literary Man with a Pencil': Thomas Hardy and His Illustrated Book, Wessex Poems". The Thomas Hardy Journal. 34 (1): 68. JSTOR 48568993.
  3. ^ M.Seymour-Smith, Thomas Hardy (London 1994) p. 637
  4. ^ T & F. Hardy, Thomas Hardy (Ware 2007) p. 311
  5. ^ M.Seymour-Smith, Thomas Hardy (London 1994) p. 561
  6. ^ M.Seymour-Smith, Thomas Hardy (London 1994) p. 597
  7. ^ M.Seymour-Smith, Thomas Hardy (London 1994) p. 177
  8. ^ I. Ousby ed., The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English (Cambridge 1995) p. 1007
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