The Haunter - Poetic Method

The Haunter

Poetic Method:

Point of View (Narrative Voice):

This poem is written by Hardy with Emma as the imaginary narrator. It has been written with a female’s point of view, posing rhetorical questions, and desperately pleading that Hardy should acknowledge her presence or answer her questions.

It is interesting that Hardy gives voice to Emma, because he almost brings her back to life and gives Hardy a sense of security, and makes him believe Emma is still with him.

With each paragraph, the tone becomes more desperate. This is like a ballad that pleads with the Almighty (or the readers) for someone to listen to her requests.

Setting:

In stanza three, Hardy makes a lot of reference to the nature around him, and we learn that this may be a forest, or likewise. The “shy hares” and “night rooks” are evidence to the fact that Hardy travelled to woods after Emma’s demise to relive his happier days with her. The phrase “old aisles” is ambiguous; one could argue that the ‘aisles’ refer to either the old churches in the English countryside, or that they have connotations of the footpaths in the woods and copses. Again, “night rooks” gives us the impression of night-time nature, and we start to appreciate the apt description of the scene around Hardy. The entire description is open to interpretation due to the line, “I companion him to places only dreamers know,” – thus leaving the reader to further the suggested image.

Language:

The language in ‘The Haunter’ is interesting to analyse as the entire poem has been narrated in Emma’s point of view. In the first stanza, Hardy writes, “How shall I let him know?” This immediately betrays a sense of desperation and despair; we understand that Emma wants Hardy to acknowledge her presence and satisfy her with replies to her unanswered questions. She calls herself “faithful phantom” – this is paradoxical as she takes pride in being a loving and determined ghost, haunting Hardy wherever he goes. We also see the theme of emotional cleansing and self-pity in the second stanza where the line “Seldom he wished to go.” appears. The full stop at the end of the line suggests a finality which seems to accuse Hardy of selfishness and neglect towards Emma. In the very next line, we see his repentance with “He goes and wants me with him more than he used to do,”.

Typical of all Hardy poems, stanza three has been dedicated to nature, and its contrast with love and life. Hardy describes the night-time nature, where we see the “shy hares” and “night rooks” – these animals suggest the scene of a forest or woods, which Hardy has revisited after Emma’s death. The phrase “close as his shade can do,” leads us to question the real meaning. Many critics have gone ahead to say that the ‘shade’ actually refers to Hardy’s ‘shadow’, and that Emma was always following in his footsteps, implying Hardy’s neglect toward her and his self-centeredness. On the other hand, some feminist critics have commented that ‘shade’ symbolises a ‘ghost’, and that Emma tries to stay as close to Hardy as possible – again bringing up the theme of self-regret and pity.

Time and again, Hardy makes references to death in his poems. The use of the word “journeys” has connotations of both death and the ‘after-life’, something that Hardy is deeply questioning in this poem. Also, we are inclined to judge the narrator’s physical condition after the tragedy of Emma’s death. The dashes after the line, “I, too, alertly go? –“ not only carries out it its function as a caesura, but also symbolises a breakdown in speech.

We also know that Hardy is tired of his own desolate life from the line, “If he but sigh...” – this shows that Hardy is in mourning and is practically delusional and directionless. Another line that proves this statement is, “His fancy sets him wandering,” wherein ‘wandering’ could refer to the search for peace and answers in his quest of the existence of the after-life.

Again, Hardy makes use of a contrasting phrase, “good haunter” – it is this very paradox that forms the basis of the poem; how Emma dauntingly takes on the role of a faithful wife and stays with Hardy until his very end, no matter that they are on different sides of existence. Her sudden urgency and despair are conveyed in the line, “Quickly make him know”, and we see described Hardy’s weak and exasperated sigh, showing the psychological trauma he has undergone after Emma’s death.