Transcript Thomas Hardy’s Life

‘Drummer Hodge’
• Three six lined verses in the plain and simple ballad rhythm of eight
and six make up this epitaph for a soldier, an unknown drummer boy
from Dorset, who dies and is buried without ceremony on the south
African plain.
• Hardy stresses the fact that he would not recognise the constilations in
the night sky. The reader knows this is an irrelevant because he’s dead,
but Hardy’s poem is an attempt to provide Hodge with that relevance
which is death has denied him.
• Here we meet the mentality that treats individual men as cannon
fodder, who thinks of a Dorset boy as a straw-sucking
‘Hodge’,who,once he is dead, simply throws him into a rough grave
without ceremony. The callous words “just as found” sound as if they
are taken from a report, the sort of thing one might write on a package
damaged in the post.
‘Drummer Hodge’
• By stressing the foreign place where he is buried, using south African
words “veldt”, “kopje”, “the broad Karroo” and drawing attention to
the foreign “constellations” That will nightly rise over his body Hardy
makes us aware of home and language, and providing an identity. He
also suggests a universality that links the stars of Wessex with those of
south Africa, Northern breast with the southern tree; the cosmic dance
dwarfing human conflicts.
• His homely and avuncular affectionate words, “young Hodge the
Drummer” provides us with the relationship with the boy which in
death has been denied, and there is a feeling of enactment of the burial
service as we know it “and from dust we come, and to dust we shall
return” In the last verse, given to the soldier the respect and honour of
a proper burial.
Thomas Hardy’s Life
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Born on June 2nd,1840
Desperate Remedies is published in 1871
Marries Emma Gifford on Sept 17th , 1874
Hardy falls seriously ill in 1880
Hardy takes a tour of Italy in 1887
Hardy’s Father dies on July 20th, 1892
Hardy’s first volume of poems, Wessex poems, is
published in 1898
Thomas Hardy
• Hardy’s Mother dies on April 3rd, 1904
• Hardy is presented with the order of Merit in 1910
• Emma Hardy suddenly dies on November 27th,
1912
• Hardy marries Florence Dugdale on February 10th,
1914
• Hardy’s sister Mary dies in 1915
• Hardy dies at the age of 87 on January 10th,1928
THE BOER WAR
DEATH OF THE IMPERIAL ARMY
THE BRITISH ARMY
• Britain had been the
commanding country of the
world for nearly a century
mostly because of its mighty
army. In Africa, Britain been
fighting ill-equipped and illorganised natives that could
be easily quashed by the new
weaponry Britain had at its
disposal. Its generals still used
Napoleonic tactics of standing
and shooting the enemy to
bits. By 1899 Britain was at
its prestige of power and to
them nobody could take it
away
The Boers
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During the 17-18th century the
Dutch began to colonise the
African continent. In the south
they began to farm out a living but
the discovery of diamonds and the
invasion of Britain in the 19th
century, the Boars had to look to
war for survival. Shortly after
settling the Boars came to their first
big test in warfare. The Zulus a
native war - like tribe pushed the
Boars up to today Botswana called
the great trek. Again the discovery
of diamonds turned a few heads
and this time the British started a
long and costly war with the Boars
The Boer war
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In 1899 the British declare war on
the Boars and take up position near
the border. In a state of anger the
Boars march south and lay siege on
the three most important cites in
Natal and Cape providence. Only
with the use of reinforcements were
the British able to lift the sieges.
And so began a guerrilla war that
greatly disturbed the British
generals. With horrendous
casualties the British terrorised the
countryside to starve the Boars into
submission. The end came with the
signing of Vereeniging in 1902.
By Conor Moorehead and
Bobby Griffin.
1856-61
Thomas meets a man called Horace Moule, who helps him study Greek and write poetry.
1862-67
Hardy also reads widely in modern poems and writes poetry, but is rejected by publishers.
1867
He begins The Poor Man and the Lady, but the novel was rejected by publishers.
1871
Desperate remedies was published.
1872
Under the Greenwood Tree was published and received well.
1873
A Pair of Blue Eyes is published and Hardy was invited to write a serial for Cornhill
magazine. While working in Higher Bockhampton, he begins Far From the Madding Crowd.
1874
Far From the Madding Crowd is published.
1876
The Hand of Ethelberta is published.
1878
Return of the Native is published.
1880
The trumpet major is published.
1881
A Laodicean is published.
1882
Two on a Tower is published.
1886
The Mayor of Casterbridge is published.
1887
The Woodlanders is published.
1888
Hardy’s first collection of short stories Wessex Tales is published. He begins Tess of the d’Ubervilles with
the title Too Late Beloved.
1891
Tess of d’Ubervilles was published. The novel was well received but heavily criticised.
1892
Well-Beloved is published serially.
1894
Life’s Little Ironies is published.
1895
Jude the Obscure is published. The novel receives harsh criticism prompting Hardy to give up novel
writing.
1897
The well Beloved, which was written prior to Jude is published.
1898
Hardy’s First volume of poetry, Wessex poems, is published.
1901
Poems of the Past and Present is published.
1904
The first part of his epic, The Dynasts is published.
1908
Hardy completes The Dynasts.
1909
Time’s laughingstocks is published.
1880
The trumpet major is published.
1881
A Laodicean is published.
1882
Two on a Tower is published.
1886
The Mayor of Casterbridge is published.
1887
The Woodlanders is published.
1888
Hardy’s first collection of short stories Wessex Tales is published. He begins Tess of the d’Ubervilles with
the title Too Late Beloved.
1891
Tess of d’Ubervilles was published. The novel was well received but heavily criticised.
1892
Well-Beloved is published serially.
1894
Life’s Little Ironies is published.
1928
HARDY DIES AFTER LIVING A BORING LIFE