Topic > Hardy and his guilt over Emma

"Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay "At Castle Boterel" by Hardy has a similar approach to 'Under the Waterfall' - the great difference between a joyful past and a bleak and empty present through visiting a physical place in nature that remains constant but where their lives have since deteriorated. This is exemplified by Hardy's focus on the time of which he recalls the memory as if we were in a "dry March" which reflects the happiness the couple felt during this period, even though in the present it is raining and therefore these happy memories are clouded by the cruel force of nature and sweep away Hardy's previous positive emotions to reveal his now raw state, Steinberg states that “the quasi-permanence of the Earth is a kind of comfort in the face of Time's endless march” (Steinberg, 2013) . Although human life is shaped by time, nature remains intact and permanent, and the juxtaposition between the two facilitates Hardy's healing by reminding him of the contrast between human mortality and the immortality of nature. Hardy describes how the hill in his memory "has been climbed... by thousands more" - the deep feelings he holds for this place in his memory are so only for him, unreciprocated by the hills. Before and after Hardy's life, many others would pass over the hills and create memories there, with great meaning for themselves, while nature remained indifferent and transcendent. Hardy reflects on the relationship between his current self and his former self, shaped by the passage of time. The metaphor “shrinking, shrinking… my sand is sinking” demonstrates how human life is limited and, in time, will come to an end. He recognizes that he is disappearing into the landscape, even if he doesn't find this negative – he recognizes how distant he is from his previous self, the self that was with Emma, ​​from his current self that is gradually disappearing into nature. The metaphor also reminds the reader how human suffering is only temporary compared to the eternal and omnipresent nature. In support of this, “primordial rocks” have existed since the most remote times in history, an eternal aspect of nature. Hardy, too, writes of nature as a source of comfort – “what they record in color and cast / is that we two have passed” – while nature watches over humans perhaps as an eternal God-like force or as a parent watches over their children. nature here clearly demonstrates how Hardy sees nature as a constant in the face of the pain he feels for Emma, ​​reminding him of the insignificance of humans compared to the superiority of nature. Perhaps Hardy's poetry can also be seen to support Deep Ecology since the interests of humans, including pain and mourning, are far insignificant compared to those of nature. In "After a Journey" time distances Hardy from Emma, ​​although the landscape brings him close to her. Written in “Pentargan Bay” Hardy is clearly using his revisiting of this place, which holds memories of a happier time, to show the constancy of his love for Emma. Commoner's belief that "place matters as much as time" is shown when Hardy not only looks through the physical senses he sees in the present to connect with Emma, ​​but also across time. Once again Hardy's feelings are represented through the change of nature: “Summer gave us sweets, but autumn brought division.” As time passes the seasons change, as does Hardy's life, as Emma's death occurred in the autumn month of November which "created a divide" between them and a connection can thus clearly be concluded between the"