The poem you are going to be studying is called the ruined maid the maid in the poem is ruined. Librivox volunteers bring you 12 recordings of the ruined maid by thomas hardy. He died in 1928 at max gate, a house he built for himself and his. In hardys time and society, focus was still heavy on if women were pure. The ruined maid by thomas hardy essay 1248 words cram.
Scott fitzgerald and the two poems whoso list to hount i knowe where is an hynde thomas wyatt and the ruined maid thomas hardy all present ideas about love a. She is either working as a prostitute or she is a kept woman. The ruined maid by thomas hardy and cousin kate by christina rosetti the poems that i studied are the ruined maid by thomas hardy and cousin kate by christina rosetti. Both richard cory and the ruined maid were written in the nineteenth century, but thomas hardy lived in england when he wrote the ruined maid and it was the mid1800s while edwin arlington robinson was in the united states when richard cory was written, and it was almost 1900. The ruined maid by thomas hardy about this poet one of the most renowned poets and novelists in english literary history, thomas hardy was born in 1840 in the english village of higher bockhampton in the county of dorset. The ruined maid and the great gatsby the student room. This poem has six stanzas, which consists of four quatrains each. The poem describes being ruined as receiving good things and a fabulous lifestyle. The major theme of this poem is that society often places women in untenable positions, especially when it comes to money. How does hardy use of rhyme and repetition effect your reading of the poem. The ruined maid analysis essay 1888 words bartleby. The poem is full of contrasts between the two speakers, as well as between the past life and present situation of the ruined maid. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem the ruined maid.
The ruined maid by thomas hardy by clare arnold on prezi. The only named woman, melia, is the title character, who wears glamorous clothing and lives richly because she is ruined. She has no more respect and probably little to no chance of marriage. Her superficially, counterpart is enigmatic, by greeting implies the ruined maid contrast. The ruined maid acts as an archetype and also an image that relates to social realities which are important during the victorian era. The ruined maid, for example, is clearly enjoying a more prosperous life as a result of her ruin she has nicer clothes and speaks better, for example. The ruined maid o melia, my dear, this does everything crown. In the ruined maid, thomas hardy uses dramatic dialogue between two women who used to work together on a farm.
Introduction to the poem and analysis for aqa gcse english. Because amelia is a prostitute and therefore she must be ruined, most women should not envy her lifestyle. The ruined maid what do we understand from the title of the poem. Although they take a different approach and have contrasting poetry styles, the theme that is portrayed is prominent for both. Hardys rhyme scheme underscores his satiric theme in the poem. Thomas hardy and the ruined maid thomas hardy 18401928 thomas hardy was born in dorset in 1840 to a father, also named thomas, who was a stonemason and builder, and a mother, jemima, who encouraged hardys love of learning and storytelling. In the beginning of each stanza the farm girl speaks, and melia, the ruined girl speaks just for the last line. Why does hardy give melia the last two lines of the poem, rather than merely one, as in the other stanzas. But what makes hardy a misogynist among other things is that an almost omnipresent theme in his work is the idea that for women, there is intrinsic beauty and virtue in suffering. Melia possibly short for amelia, and a woman who unexpectedly meets her in town, who previously knew her as a farm. Amelia, the ruined girl of the poem, evidently comes from a background of.
The poem has six stanzas of four lines each, or quatrains, and in each of the first five the farm girl speaks for the first three lines. Prereading and prediction tasks on the title, speaking and listening tasks based on dialogue and key lines, web research activity on context, a creative writing response task plus worksheets for further close analysis. A theme in many of hardys works, victorian era social norms. The ruined maid themes women and femininity thomas hardy frequently talked about the role of women in victorian society, and he never had a lot of good things to say about it. This video considers the language and concerns of the poet thomas hardy in the ruined maid. She was raised on a farm and lived a poor lifestyle before she was ruined. The poem, which is a dialogue between a ruined woman and her unruined friend, questions just what exactly it means for a woman to be ruined. The ruined maid the ruined maid was written by thomas hardy in 1866. You left us in tatters, without shoes or socks, tired of. This is classic hardy at his best with just the right amount of ambivalent irony. Ive been trying to make a connection between myrtle and melia but im struggling a bit. A maid is a chaste young woman, and if she is ruined she is no longer a maid. Unlike most poems using couplets, however, this one relies on a single, repeated rhyme for the second half of every stanza, giving the poem this scheme.
A woman from the country encounters a woman who now has money, nice clothes, and a better life. What do you think hardys views on victorian attitudes to women are. If the ruined maid is a satire, explain what or whom hardy is satirizing, and with what intention. A woman from the country encounters a woman who now has m. The speaker immediately notices a vast difference in amelia and is obviously envious of her appearance, language, and wealth. A comparison of the ideas on love and class in the great. The style is a ballad, with jogging rhythm, simple language including dialect, and regular aabb. The ruined maid was written by thomas hardy in 1866. What is the ruined maid by thomas hardy about answers.
Discussion questions on thomas hardys the ruined maid. I will find at least three sources of critics of the poem and discuss what their point of view on the poem is. The themes in the ruined maid that i can come up with are. The social distinctions of the victorian period were another favorite theme of hardys, and we see it on full display in the ruined maid.
How thomas hardy took on victorianera purity culture the novelist and poets writing pushed back against the idea that a womans virtue is. This is a theme that hardy also explores, although with a different spin, in tess of the durbervilles, which was published before this poem. What poetry techniques and theme does thomas hardy use in the ruined maid. The ruined maid by thomas hardy 943 words bartleby. Complete analysis of the ruined maid by thomas hardy. He wrote poems in his spare time and submitted them to various london magazines, but with very little success in terms of publication. Thomas hardys poem the ruined maid, written in 1866, takes the form of a dialogue between two girls or young women who previously worked together on a farm. The ruined maid the ruined maid was written by thomas hardy in 1866this poem has six stanzas, which consists of four quatrains each. It similarly revealed the injustices of victorian morality. As a victorian man, hardy knew the harsh double standard that was placed on men and women. Compare how the authors of two texts you have studied present ideas about love and class in the novel the great gatsby f.
The girl who speaks first is still a farmhand, and she has just met the other girl, amelia, by chance in town. The academy of american poets is the largest membershipbased nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting american poets. The ruined maid, one of his earliest and bestknown poems, is a rare example of thomas hardys satirical verse. Hardys poem, the ruined maid uses the voice of a woman who has been ruined in the eyes of society. Comparison of to his coy mistress and the ruined maid. The ruined maid by thomas hardy and one perfect rose by dorothy parker take an in depth look at how women are viewed by the opposite gender. Poetic structure the ruined maid has six stanzas, each with two rhyming couplets. Stanzas 34 why is it ironic that amelia is fit for high companys. About the ruined maid the poem comprises six stanzas of four lines each, known as quatrains. Comparison of to his coy mistress and the ruined maid to his coy mistress is written by andrew marvell in the 17th century. The sample essay on the ruined maid deals with a framework of researchbased facts, approaches, and arguments concerning this theme.
Most notably, hardy uses an aabb perfect rhyme scheme. Marvell was one of the socalled metaphysical poets a term of mild literary abuse coined by dr. This was the weekly poetry project for february 3, 2017read in english by. The ruined maid by thomas hardy is a great example of how things used to be in the eighteenth century. O melia my dear this does everything crownwho could have supposed i should meet you in townand whence such fair garments such prosperity. The ruined maid by thomas hardy and cousin kate by christina rosetti 814 words 4 pages. The differences in the way people dress, what people do for work and how nonchalant people are about their way of life. The ruined maid by thomas hardy by miss crockart on prezi. The speaker, who still works at the farm, runs into an old friend named amelia. Hardy, who wished to be remembered merely as a good hand at a serial, returned to writing poetry after earning enough money to forego fiction.