Language of Hearing

Abstract

Thomas Hardy’s prose is the prose of a poet, and his poetry is the poetry of a story-teller. ‘The Wessex novels have more poetry in them than any English novels of the nineteenth century.’¹ Hardy himself believed that good prose should have a poetic quality: ‘the shortest way to good prose is by the route of good verse’ (PW 147). He shows unusual sensitivity to sound and its translation into language. Despite some awkward lapses, both his prose and his poetry are well suited to being read aloud, a quality which is a good test of a writer’s style.