[Ttha-potm] Snow in the Suburbs: Sensory Delight

[Kathy Urbanic]

Hello,

I'm a long-time Hardy enthusiast, new to this list.  I'd like to offer a comment about "Snow in the Suburbs," a favorite of mine.  Unlike many of Hardy's poems -- which so often tell a story or convey an emotion -- this one can be enjoyed on a purely sensory level.  Hardy shows his skillful use of language and his mastery of the poet's tools here, particularly in diction, word choice, and meter.  The first two lines, for example, hang heavy like the branches they describe.  Lines 5 and 6 are more languid, and the reader can feel the meandering fall of the snowflakes.  Hardy's description of the snow-lump falling on the sparrow, which then sets off "a volley of other lodging lumps," is wonderful, those lines hurtling along just like the image he paints.  In the last three lines, the poem becomes quieter and slower, much like the cat creeping toward the sparrow "with feeble hope." Delightful!  Of course, as the discussion thus far has shown, like all of Hardy's work this poem can be read on many levels.

Kathy