Wessex Poems and Other Verses


Wessex Poems and Other Verses is a collection of fifty-one poems set against the bleak and forbidding Dorset landscape by English writer Thomas Hardy. It was first published in 1898 by New York: Harper,, and contained a number of illustrations by the author himself.

Reception

The collection met a broadly hostile reception, critics being accustomed to Hardy as a writer of prose alone. Hardy himself was taken aback by the failure to recognise his dry humour, as in the 'Bride-Night Fire'.
On a more personal note, his wife Emma disliked the section consisting of love lyrics to various recipients; and especially 'The Ivy Wife', which she felt aimed at her.

Notable poems

Two notable early poems from the collection were "Hap" and 'Amabel' - the latter exploring the theme of sexual attraction impacted by age taken up by The Well-Beloved. 'She at His Funeral' was a tribute to Hardy's friend Horace Moule; while the bitter "Neutral Tones" and the cheerful 'Sergeant's Song' show further aspects of Hardy's range of poetic subjects.