Winter Words in Various Moods and Metres

Winter Words in Various Moods and Metres is the last, posthumous collection of poems by English poet Thomas Hardy, and was published in 1928. The collection shows Hardy continued his metrical experimentation to the end,^[1] with his poetic energies undiminished.^[2]

Themes

While the collection mainly featured recent poems (post 1925), the subject matter was diverse and ranged back over much of Hardy's past.^[3] Notable autobiographical poems include "A Private Man on Public Men", and "So Various".^[4]

Hardy was insistent in his Introductory Note that “no harmonious philosophy is attempted in these pages – or in any bygone pages of mine, for that matter”.^[5] The collection closes with the poet's final farewell: "He Resolves to Say No More".^[6]

See also

• Winter Words (song cycle)

References

1. J. Lucas, Modern English Poetry (London 1986) p. 22
2. M. Seymour-Smith, Thomas Hardy (London 1994) p. 862
3. I. Ousby ed., The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English (CUP 1996) p. 1029
4. M. Seymour-Smith, Thomas Hardy (London 1994) p. 573 and p. 667
5. D. Wright ed., Thomas Hardy: Selected Poems (Penguin 1978) p. 451
6. J. C. Brown, A Journey Through Thomas Hardy's Poetry (London 1989) p. 242-3

External links

• Complete text of Winter Words in Various Moods and Metres at Internet Archive