Composition

When analysing “After a Journey” by Thomas Hardy, we must deal with both outer composition and inner composition.

Outer composition

The poem “After a Journey” reads like a call from the poet to the spirit of his deceased wife, Emma. The poem has four stanzas, each having eight verses. The poem was written soon after her death, in 1912, and was followed by several other poems that the author dedicated to her. The poem ends with a name place, “Pentargan Bay”, which is presumably the place where the couple used to spend time together.

Inner composition

Each of the four stanzas depicts a certain scene between the poet and the spirit of his deceased wife.

The first stanza presents Emma as a young woman, with “nut-coloured hair” (l. 7). She is happy, runni...