Neutral Tones

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1898

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

The Ash Tree’s Significance

In folklore, the ash tree is connected with rebirth and healing. This is due to its mythic reputation as the “Tree of Life” that links the earth to both the heavenly and the underworld. The fact that the ash tree’s leaves in “Neutral Tones” have “fallen” (Line 4) and are “grayish” (Line 16) symbolically indicates, however, that there is little hope for any rejuvenation of the relationship in the “starving sod” (Line 3). This sense of destruction is further exacerbated by the symbolism of the word “ash,” which suggests the powdery remnants of cinders after a burning fire. This, in turn, suggests that the once passionate relationship between the couple is now no more, existing as mere ruins. This not only affects the relationship but also feels personal to the speaker, whose love is incinerated by the “smile on [the lover’s] mouth [that] was the deadest thing / Alive enough to have the strength to die” (Lines 9-10). The ash tree clearly helps solidify the specificity of the locale, but it serves to enhance the theme through its implications.

The Judgment of the Chidden Su

Hardy’s speaker describes the sun as “white” (Line 2). On one hand, this indicates the light that, in the winter months, is so bright that it negates color, thus enhancing “neutral tones.” However, the descriptions of the sun as “chidden of God” (Line 2) and “God curst” (Line 15) belie any neutrality. For the speaker, the sun—or love affair—has been reprimanded by a judgmental God. That which seemed like a natural and life-giving connection has been stripped of its power because it is unsanctioned or unholy, a fact perhaps caused by the lover’s mental or physical infidelity. This allusion to a fall from grace is emphasized in the last stanza. “[L]ove deceives” (Line 13) and therefore reshapes the “face” (Line 15) of the lover, explaining the speaker’s changed perception and why they now see the sun as “God curst” (Line 15).

The Portentous, Ominous Bird

The speaker’s description of the lover’s smile becoming a “grin of bitterness [sweeping] thereby / Like an ominous bird” (Lines 11-12) is a symbol of the dying nature of the relationship. If a bird is considered “ominous” (Line 11), it is threatening or menacing. This may call to mind two distinct types of birds: predatory hunters (e.g., owls and hawks) associated with the destruction of smaller and more vulnerable creatures or carrion feeders (e.g., ravens and vultures) that are traditionally associated with death. The allusion makes the reader consider that the lover might be destructive, even before the speaker reveals that “love deceives” (Line 13). There is an implication that the speaker is vulnerable to the lover’s subtle rejections and that the lover’s neutrality and lack of passion have killed the relationship. Ominous birds are traditionally considered portents of calamity, and here, the speaker’s observation of the lover’s smile shows that they should have suspected the betrayal that is indeed eventually revealed.