[Ttha-potm] A Seasonal Hardyan Epiphany

[carolyn mcgrath]

3 very quick points (because I'm supposed to be doing something 'useful')!
 
1. No 'amen' in the poem - not so much a 'So be it', more of a 'So it be' - no hint of wish fulfilment or even acceptance, just an acknowledgement of reality.
 
2. The 'change' being associated with death 'greatly exaggerated? I don't think so. Besides the allusion to Job, which some might miss, there's the star's agreement, and its impending transformation is surely its death? Also, unless the persona is a non-human life-form, such as a chrysalis which has an anticipated metamorphosis shared by the rest of its species, I can't think of a transformation significant enough within the human lifespan that succeeds in filling the demands of the awaited transformation except for death. There has to be an 'everyman' aspect to the change, and the change needs to be great.
 
3. The attitude in the poem, I have come to think, hinges on the 2 phrases: 'For all I know' and 'Just so'. To me, the former introduces an answer that suggests the speaker
considers it to be possibly/probably not true, or maybe that it is even highly unlikely. However, the emphasis is on the speaker's *lack* of an evidence base. The greater irony then is that the star emphatically supports the speaker's supposedly ironic reply: 'Just so' and provides the evidence that has been staring him in the face - this exactly describes the fate of the star. Any illusions of greater purpose are swept away by the clear night skiies.
 
4. (I know, I said 3) I agree with you, Bill, my worldview did come in on my comments earlier, but the poem doesn't go any further than I have described. I personally don't hear any rancour, even though the reality may not be to Hardy's liking - or mine come to that - the poem only captures that moment of understanding reality; the moment is on one of 'So it be', this little being is all there is on a grand scale. I do find it wrily funny! I also find it calming as, there you have it, that's the way it is. The star burns on, lights up the sky; human beings put things into words. Communication and relations seem to me to be at the heart of the poem.
 
I'm now on holiday, but I'll try to get to a computer and keep up with any seasonal goodwill to be found on POTM!
 
Merry wishes to each and every one!
 
Carolyn McGrath


      
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