Neutral Tones

“Neutral Tones” is a lyric poem composed by the English Victorian novelist and poet Thomas Hardy in 1867. The poem consists of four quatrains and details the breakup of a love affair on a winter day. Despite being composed when Hardy was 27, the poem was not published until three decades later, in the 1898 collection Wessex Poems. At that point in his career, Hardy had moved away from publishing novels after Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1895) were met with protest and critique. Their stark explorations of sexuality and religious doubt went against social conventions at the time. For the remainder of his life—he died in 1928—Hardy only wrote poetry and plays. His poems were widely praised and earned back his positive reputation. In 1910, he earned an Order of Merit from the King of England for artistic achievement.

One of Hardy’s most widely known poems, “Neutral Tones” highlights the poet’s ability to convey melancholy over lost love and create a despairing atmosphere through precise descriptions of setting. The poem’s rural locale and tone of pessimism are hallmarks of Hardy’s creative writing.