tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post4622202830195013947..comments2024-03-29T14:09:59.032+00:00Comments on Yorkshire Pudding: AgonyYorkshire Puddinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-6697459769666024892009-10-09T04:16:24.802+01:002009-10-09T04:16:24.802+01:00Hellooooo YP! It is me calling you from across th...Hellooooo YP! It is me calling you from across the mead....Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12453125929159161583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-76712330183781713432009-10-09T00:20:34.194+01:002009-10-09T00:20:34.194+01:00I've never read much of Hardy's poetry. I...I've never read much of Hardy's poetry. I did read "Jude the Obscure" though - - yes, great novel, but GLOOMY. Olli loves gloomy novels. I don't. Yet I'll read gloomy autobiographies. I think I prefer my gloom to be real not fictional, IF I'm going to read gloom - - which, I suspect, increasingly, I'm not.<br />Actually I rather liked this poem and the way the rhythm falters.<br />Perhaps I'll stop now.Daphnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14469075813149239051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-79625316579879861902009-10-08T23:45:18.379+01:002009-10-08T23:45:18.379+01:00Thai songs are full of this kind of heartbreak- mo...Thai songs are full of this kind of heartbreak- more so than Europe or America I think. Think country meets Morrissey (although perhaps not as bitter sweet and darkly humorous) and you might be on the right track.<br /><br />They also have a keen eye for metaphor and despite their belief in (philosophy-rather than- religion) Buddhism, they have a great understanding and respect for the supernatural which this poem does too.<br /><br />They are currently turning the poem into a script so expect a big film version soon with Jude Law as ardy and Rene Zelwegger as Emma to follow...<br /><br />As for the teacher, well what can I say, I was mentored by the best...Bangkok Boothyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17254842147773311112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-86955899288941161072009-10-08T18:44:00.718+01:002009-10-08T18:44:00.718+01:00BANGKOK BOOB Technically, one of the interesting f...BANGKOK BOOB Technically, one of the interesting features of this poem is the way in which the rhythm gradually and deliberately falters from a sing-song first stanza to a stuttering conclusion - rather like Hardy's own decline or the loss of his sure-footedness in living. All of us have a tendency to gild the past and this is probably what Hardy was guilty of when remembering Emma.<br />I find the idea of a bunch of Thai schoolboys really appreciating this poem very odd so they must have an excellent teacher. Is Denise working with them as well?Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-66206331154271698832009-10-08T08:52:29.047+01:002009-10-08T08:52:29.047+01:00Well there's something about this poem that se...Well there's something about this poem that seems to be rather good even though it's a simple but effective poem. The Thai lads in my y10 class were quite moved by it and this from students whose native tongues are very poetic.<br /><br />I know many academics today are very sniffy about Hardy's poetry though and for the main part I happen to agree with them. <br /><br />But then again many feminists are narked about his work, especially The Mayor of Casterbridge which I always found a strange one. <br /><br />Apparently they find his portrayal of women too patronising...Bangkok Boothyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17254842147773311112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-71812438376928444082009-10-07T22:26:16.770+01:002009-10-07T22:26:16.770+01:00I don't know YP, "Jude the Obscure" ...I don't know YP, "Jude the Obscure" depressed the hell out of me. Don't get me wrong - I adore Hardy but my personal favourite is "The Return of the Native." <br /><br />I did read a scholarly biography of him more years ago than I care to remember, but most of it has floated away on a sea of hedonistic flotsam and jetsam. I just seem to remember that he spent his last years depressed.<br /><br />Might have to dig out some of his other works in my 'read more classics' phase.©gloophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07016915384670394498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-76984049073076814862009-10-07T17:38:53.695+01:002009-10-07T17:38:53.695+01:00BOOTHERS... After "Jude The Obscure" - H...BOOTHERS... After "Jude The Obscure" - Hardy's last and best novel - was lambasted by prudish London society, Hardy returned to his poetry and the one I chose is just part of a sequence of love poems that focus upon Emma Gifford and the pain of Hardy's unrealised romatic yearnings. How can you compare the craft of a novelist with the economy of a poet? You can't. By the way I was never in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)...Hic!... it's just a rumour.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-81367481413340279562009-10-07T07:56:21.251+01:002009-10-07T07:56:21.251+01:00Strange that I'm studying this poem for the Ca...Strange that I'm studying this poem for the Cambridge Exam Board, IGCSE Literature.<br /><br />Spooky in fact. Can't believe reading up on Hardy that he thought he was a better poet than novelist.<br /><br />It's not a lament for AA is it?Bangkok Boothyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17254842147773311112noreply@blogger.com