I really liked this Jeremy, thanks. Probably like a lot of people, I've known the poem for so long that I've never really worried much about what it meant or why he wrote it, but I agree with you that Davie's reading, though bracing & very stimulating, is probably over clever. Or rather, I can believe that he might be right about Hardy's conscious intentions, but if so, the poem escaped his cynicism -- accidentally sincere, perhaps. It always makes me remember my grandmother, who was born on Christmas Day 1900.
I am not a fan of Hardy for precisely the darkness, got enough of it in the real world already! I liked your post, especially the bit about unwanted subscribers.
I really liked this Jeremy, thanks. Probably like a lot of people, I've known the poem for so long that I've never really worried much about what it meant or why he wrote it, but I agree with you that Davie's reading, though bracing & very stimulating, is probably over clever. Or rather, I can believe that he might be right about Hardy's conscious intentions, but if so, the poem escaped his cynicism -- accidentally sincere, perhaps. It always makes me remember my grandmother, who was born on Christmas Day 1900.
I am not a fan of Hardy for precisely the darkness, got enough of it in the real world already! I liked your post, especially the bit about unwanted subscribers.
Thank you for injecting a little poetry into my morning email slog. Maybe I'll open the door and see if I can let a little birdsong in as well.