poetry response #6

Holly Patton

Mrs. Jernigan

English IV-AP

28 February 2011

“The Ruined Maid”

Thomas Hardy

            In this rhythmic sonnet, author and poet Thomas Hardy breaks from the traditional fourteen-line format, and he takes on the narrative from the perspective of a girl. His only two subjects in this work are both female, and his tone and diction ring strongly of that of our own Tess of the d’Ubervilles. This paradoxical narrative portrays a girl marveling at the grandeur of a former servant who is taken aback when this prosperous woman replies, “O didn’t you know I’d been ruined?” She further emphasizes her misfortunes by returning all of her compliments with repetitions of her “ruined” state. His AABB rhyme scheme adds to the pleasure of reading this poem because of its steady flow. It allows the awestruck girl to express all of her jealousies in the first three lines and the ruined maid to give a sad reply in the fourth (except in the sixth stanza, where the Maid has the final word).

            Hardy’s thematic approach to this poem clearly displays his opinions on the benefits of wealth. Many long and hope for it, dreaming of escaping their “hag-ridden dream” and faces “blue and bleak.” Yet this woman, who has risen from the ashes to attain a high status, shuts down all of this girl’s praise with the assurance of her ruined nature. Wealth, standing alone, does not make one happy or content. In accordance with Hardy’s belief, it can produce quite the opposite result. One can be bedecked in the latest fashions, poised and refined, living in lavish lifestyles, and yet be completely discontent with themselves.