CAPE Literatures in English (Unit 1) - An introduction to the poet Thomas Hardy, his life and his works.

1. Novelist and Poet

2. Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928)
was an English novelist and poet.
While Hardy wrote poetry throughout his life and
regarded himself primarily as a poet, his first
collection was not published until 1898.
Initially, therefore, he gained fame as the author
of novels

3. Thomas Hardy’s life can be divided into three phases:
1. The first phase (1840-1870) embraces childhood,
adolescence, apprenticeship, first marriage, early
poems and his first unpublished novel.
2. The second phase (1871-1897) is marked by intensive
writing, which resulted in the publication of 14 novels
and a number of short stories.
3. In the third phase (1898-1928), the period of the
writer’s rising fame, he abandoned writing novels and
returned to poetry.

4. Born on 2nd June, 1840 in the village of Higher [Upper]
Bockhampton in Stinsford parish near the town of
Dorchester in Dorset County, England
Childhood pursuits, often spending time alone
wandering the countryside, exploring the flora and
fauna, gaining a profound connection with nature and
the familiar sights and sounds of his rural home county
Attended the Stinson church with his family, was a
voracious reader, learned to play the violin and
attended local schools studying Latin, Greek, French,
classical literature, and assisted his father in his various
building projects

5.  At the age of sixteen, Hardy was taken on as apprentice to
John Hicks, an architect in Dorchester
 Left in 1862 for London to work with architect Arthur
Blomfield
 He worked in an office which specialized in restoration of
churches
 Immersed himself in the city's vibrant literary and cultural
atmosphere, studying art, visiting the National Gallery,
attending the theatre, and writing prose and poetry
 Five years later, concerned about his health, he returned
to Dorset and decided to dedicate himself to writing

6. Emily
Hardy met Emma Lavinia Gifford (1840-1912) in 1870.
She was working at the rectory in St. Juliot, Cornwall,
a building project he was working on.
They married in London in 1874
Emma died suddenly on 27 November 1912
Florence
In 1914, Hardy married his secretary, Florence Emily
Dugdale (1879-1937)
Dugdale was 39 years his junior

7. Hardy became ill with pleurisy in December 1927
He died at his home, Max Gate, in Dorchester on 11th
January 1928
Hardy narrated his final poem to his wife while on his
deathbed
His heart is buried in the cemetery of St. Michael's
Church in Stinsford, Dorset, where Emma and
Florence also now rest
His ashes were interred in Poet's Corner of
Westminster Abbey, London, England

8. Hardy divided his novels and collected short stories
into three classes:
1. Novels of Character and Environment
2. Romance and Fantasies
3. Novels of Ingenuity

9. After harsh criticism for two of his novels, Hardy
wrote and published works of drama:
1. The Dynasts (verse drama)
 The Dynasts, Part 1 (1904)
 The Dynasts, Part 2 (1906)
 The Dynasts, Part 3 (1908)
2. The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall at
Tintagel in Lyonnesse (1923) (one-act play)

10. Poetry was Hardy's first literary love
He wrote poems from the 1860s onward till near his
death, completing nearly a thousand poems (986)
Hardy is now recognised as one of the greatest poets
of the twentieth century
In 1898 Hardy published his first volume of poetry,
Wessex Poems, a collection of poems written over a
period of 30 years

11. http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/hardy/
http://www.hardysociety.org/

12. Novelist and Poet