Thomas Hardy was one of our great 20th Century poets; he was also a major novelist and one of the most famous men of letters of his day. He was man of contradictions: believer/non-believer, socialist and snob, unhappy husband/desolate widower. He grew up in a remote country village and had a conflicted relationship with his mother. All these biographical battles feed into his writing, therefore we will read his poems with these issue in mind. The recommended text for this course is: Thomas Hardy: The Complete Poems ed. James Gibson.
Note: The Spring term will be held via Zoom from 14:10 - 15:10.