After reading Thomas Hardy's poems, most readers will agree that his work focuses on darker, more serious subject matter than usual writers. ... Work by Thomas Hardy like "Hap", "The Convergence of the Twain", and "Ah, Are You Digging On My Grave?... The truth that Hardy presents is that death is everyone's unavoidable destiny. ... Hardy shows that the ship has not gone to waste. ... Thomas Hardy's use of fate as a reoccurring theme in his poems is important in bringing light to his otherwise dark poems. ...

• Word Count: 1015
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Hardy himself seems unclear about the nature of Henchard's hamartia when he quotes Novalis: "Character is fate"--certainly a useful aphorism for a Victorian novelist, though something about which Aristotle in The Poetics does not address. ... However, in terms of emotional response, the ultimate fate of Tess, scion of once-proud aristocratic family brought low by Hardy's twin enemies of humanity (Time and Chance), arouses more pity and fear in a modern reader than does Henchard's. ... http://www.goldenessays.com/alphabetic/1/book-rep/mayor-of-casterbridge.htm In Thomas ...

• Word Count: 1167
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Tess Durbeyfield, in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles is a protagonist who elicits the sympathy of the reader as she suffers, acts, and triumphs over her antagonist, who is embodied by the character of Alec D'Urberville, Tess' wealthy defile. ... Tess Durbeyfield, in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, is a tragic heroes because she suffers, faces great losses, and triumphs in her attainment of wisdom. ...

• Word Count: 380
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In the novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, tragedy is undoubtedly present in the protagonist, Tess Durbeyfield's life. ... (Hardy 95) Tess' innocence is at risk her because she is not informed of the dangers of life by her parents; her mother does not even stop her from leaving with Alec, even though she has a feeling that Alec may take advantage of Tess. ... But if I break down by falling into some fearful snare, my last state will be worse than my first- (Hardy 398) Angel's stubbornness and pride puts a dent not only into his own life, but to Tess' l...

• Word Count: 877
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School