The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy
The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy

The Ruined Maid

Thomas Hardy * Track #36 On Poems of the Past and the Present

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Album Poems of the Past and the Present

The Ruined Maid by Thomas Hardy

Performed by
Thomas Hardy
About

The poem comprises six stanzas of four lines each, known as quatrains. The style is a ballad, with jogging rhythm, simple language including dialect, and regular AABB rhyme. The question-and-answer format is typical, telling two sides of a story. The simplicity and mock-innocence are ironic; this is...

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The Ruined Maid Annotated

"O 'Melia, my dear, this does everything crown!
Who could have supposed I should meet you in Town?
And whence such fair garments, such prosperi-ty?" -
"O didn't you know I'd been ruined?" said she.

- "You left us in tatters, without shoes or socks,
Tired of digging potatoes, and spudding up docks;
And now you've gay bracelets and bright feathers three!" -
"Yes: that's how we dress when we're ruined," said she.

- "At home in the barton you said 'thee' and 'thou,'
And 'thik oon,' and 'theas oon,' and 't'other'; but now
Your talking quite fits 'ee for high compa-ny!" -
"Some polish is gained with one's ruin," said she.

- "Your hands were like paws then, your face blue and bleak,
But now I'm bewitched by your delicate cheek,
And your little gloves fit as on any la-dy!" -
"We never do work when we're ruined," said she.

- "You used to call home-life a hag-ridden dream,
And you'd sigh, and you'd sock; but at present you seem
To know not of megrims or melancho-ly!" -
"True. There's an advantage in ruin," said she.

- "I wish I had feathers, a fine sweeping gown,
And a delicate face, and could strut about Town!" -
"My dear—a raw country girl, such as you be,
Isn't equal to that. You ain't ruined," said she.

WESTBOURNE PARK VILLAS, 1866,

The Ruined Maid Q&A

Who wrote The Ruined Maid's ?

The Ruined Maid was written by Thomas Hardy.

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