The Ruined Maid poem By Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy in his poem entitled the “Ruined Maid” has chosen to present the story of mixed reactions of two ladies in a very comic manner using a number of literary devices to make a lucid presentation. The country maid is blushing under the weight of envy for this refined former country maid. As the author advances in his presentation it becomes evident that the country maid is presenting her dialogue in an endless stream of sarcasm with an intermittent display of ironic and paradoxical expressions.
Suffice to make a series of brief analysis of the literary devices stated above. There is a sharp sense of ironic presentation in the words of the country maid as she expresses her admiration for the radiant city maiden. The irony lies in the admiration for a ruined entity; knowing that chastity is a virtue that is worth the keep and having done so there is no point admiring vice. An inherent craving for a sense of beauty clothed in vices is certainly a bunch of absurdity that amounts to being paradoxical. The historical context under which this expression is made cannot be treated in isolation as part of the process of understanding what Thomas Hardy actually wanted to inform his readers about. It should be noted that within the Victorian parlance being described as “ruined” expressed a high degree of destruction that is just irreparable under any circumstance. To some extend this expression still holds true for some sections of contemporary societies. The use of “ruined” to address the city maiden has some judgmental connotation which is not entirely derogatory
Background
The two leading characters presented in Hardy’s poem were both members of the working class social group that was undergoing a perpetual state of exploitation by the wealthy aristocratic power brokers. They lived on the scrap heaps of poverty and deprivation at all levels and clearly yearned for any favorable outlet to escape the misery brought upon by the poverty around them.
In the case of the characters mentioned above, there is evidence to prove that they tried to escape this misery using migration to city life as the most plausible option at the time. They were however disappointed in line with the old adage that not all that glitters is gold. All that transpired in the poem was recorded during the hey days of the industrial revolution that swept across Europe and the rest of the world.
A critical analysis of the poem reveals that there is a stream of recurrent themes presented that provides good grounds to argue that the poem is within the ballad writing tradition. In a number of instances, it is also evident that the recurrent passage of dialogue expressed across the six four line stanzas can be viewed within this context.
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