The Essential Hardy (Essential Poets (Paperback Ecco)) (Vol 21) [Paperback]

Thomas Hardy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

1967
After A Journey
Afterwards
An Ancient To Ancients
'and There Was A Great Calm'
At A Lunar Eclipse
At Casterbridge Fair: 1. The Ballad-singer
At Casterbridge Fair: 2. Former Beauties
At Casterbridge Fair: 3. After The Club-dance
At Casterbridge Fair: 4. The Market-girl
At Casterbridge Fair: 5. The Inquiry
At Casterbridge Fair: 6. A Wife Waits
At Casterbridge Fair: 7. After The Fair
At Castle Boterel
At Lulworth Cove A Century Back
A Broken Appointment
By Henstridge Cross At The Year's End
Christmas: 1924
The Church Builder
The Comet At Yell'ham
The Convergence Of The Twain; Lines On Loss Of The Titanic
The Darkling Thrush
Drummer Hodge
During Wind And Rain
Evelyn G. Of Christminister
First Or Last (song)
For Life I Had Never Cared Greatly
The Going
Going And Staying
Hap
The Haunter
Haunting Fingers; A Phantasy In A Museum Of Musicial Instruments
He Resolves To Say No More
Heredity
Horses Aboard
How She Went To Ireland
I Found Her Out There
I Look Into My Glass
I Looked Up From My Writing
I Said To Love
In A Cathedral City
In A London Flat
In A Museum
In A Wood
In Death Divided
In Front Of The Landscape
In Tenebris: 1
In Tenebris: 2
In The Moonlight
In Time Of 'the Breaking Of Nations'
The Last Signal
Leipzig
Let Me Enjoy (minor Key)
Lying Awake
The Missed Train
Mute Opinion
Near Lanivet, 1872
Neutral Tones
The Newcomer's Wife
No Buyers (a Street Scene)
Nobody Comes
Old Furniture
On An Invitation To The United States
On The Departure Platform
The Oxen
The Phantom Horsewoman
The Pity Of It
The Protean Maid (song)
The Rambler
Regret Not Me
The Reminder
The Roman Gravemounds
The Roman Road
Rome. At The Pyramid Of Cestius Near The Graves Of Shelley
The Rover Come Home
The Ruined Maid
The Satin Shoes
The Schreckhorn
The Selfsame Song
Shelley's Skylark
Shut Out That Moon
The Souls Of The Slain
Starlings On The Roof
The Subalterns
Timing Her
To Flowers From Italy In Winter
To Lizbie Browne
Transformations
The Two Soldiers
Under The Waterfall
Vagg Hollow
The Voice
We Say We Shall Not Meet
Wessex Heights
When Dead
Where The Picnic Was
The Widow Betrothed
Your Last Drive
Epitaph On A Pessimist
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

About the Author

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is best known for his novels, Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895), which was denounced as morally objectionable. Hardy, disgusted with this reaction, declared he would never write fiction again and devoted the rest of his literary career to poetry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Ecco (May 21, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880014059
• ISBN-13: 978-0880014052
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,867,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful introduction and analysis by Brodsky., September 30, 1999

By 

S. Lachterman (Hillsdale NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential Hardy (Essential Poets (Paperback Ecco)) (Vol 21) (Paperback)

There is a small volume of Hardy verse collected by Russian/American poet (and, Nobel laureate), Joseph Brodsky. It is part of a series published by Ecco press -- "The Essential Poets." "The Essential Hardy," the last in the series, is a small anthology of about 100 poems. The really interesting thing about this edition is an extensive introduction (66 pages), in which the poet Brodsky analyzes in considerable depth, five of Hardy's poems. His discussion is, I think, quite brilliant and provocative. He views Hardy as a "poet's poet," and one that will, after the millennium, win a huge following. What I enjoyed the most was his gleanings of Hardy's craft -- matters of meter, imagery, and tone that might, I think, elude traditional scholars but appeal to professional poets. From subtle pictorialism in "Convergence of the Twain," to social commentary in "In the Moonlight," I found myself sensitized to Hardy's poetry in new, refreshing ways. His exuberance and insight are noteworthy, especially coming from a non-native-English writer. Brodsky's prose is lively and compelling throughout.

Sadly, though, this volume was written a year before Brodsky's untimely death. One would have wanted more from him.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRODSKY'S QUINTESSENTIAL HARDY, January 15, 2002

By 

B.D. (Rancho San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Hardy (Essential Poets (Paperback Ecco)) (Vol 21) (Paperback)

Just the commentary by Nobelist Brodsky (died 1997,God rest his untimely soul) justifies reading this book multiple times. His insight on the poet Hardy as well as monumental poems like
'Darkling Thrush' and 'Convergence of the Twain' are illuminating,
penetrating and vividly insightful. Brodsky's prose itself at times soars into poetry in motion and emotion as his genuine delight in Hardy's craftsmanship constantly bubbles to the surface of his introductory essay.

It's clear Brodsky and his hero Hardy have much in common: earthy;master noticers;poets of the suffering human condition;
a keen appreciation of what most eyes miss combined with a gift
of expressing that vision in ways that stick in mind and heart
for the duration;an understanding of 'cunning irregularity' in their mostly formal prosody, that is, not being too sing-songy or
doggerelish in rhyme/rhythm of their lines, but utilizing built-in 'speed bumps' to vary the tone and texture of their poems.

A tour de force that belongs on every poetry-lover's shelf next to their volumes of Hardy,Frost,Yeats,Housman,Masefield,Auden,
C.S.Lewis,Betjeman,Wilbur,Hecht and younger poets Timothy Steele,Dana Gioia,A.E.Stallings. Should be must-reading material
for English Lit. courses worldwide.