[Ttha-potm] 'Waiting Both'

[Betty Cortus]

I think it's quite marvelous that you can find all this jauntiness  
and posh diction in the poem Carolyn.  It's a fascinating thing to me  
that  different readers can find such disparate qualities in a brief  
poem such as this one.  I, on the other hand,  find the language  
simple and if anything a little incantational.  And instead of your   
jolly country squire, I hear the voice of a very old individual — one  
who has seen a great deal of life, endured its joys and sorrows,  and  
is now content to peacefully call it a day whenever the curtain deems  
it fit to fall.  This, of course, may be just a function of my own  
age, and the realization that I won't be around forever, even though  
I was once perfectly sure I would be.

I enjoyed your lively reading anyway dear Carolyn.
Betty

On Dec 1, 2008, at 5:12 PM, carolyn mcgrath wrote:

> At first, I was very curious about Ilaria's use of the word  
> 'lively' to describe this poem as I didn't think it quite fitted,  
> but on re-reading and some reflection over the course of the day, I  
> would like to add 'light-hearted' and 'witty' to the description.
>
> I hope you don't mind my saying this, Betty, but my initial reading  
> was skewed by my interpretation of your introduction. You may not  
> have intended to imply this but, in your introduction, you seemed  
> to me to suggest that the speaker of the poem is best read as some  
> version of Hardy himself.
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