Ah, Are You Digging On My Grave? Analysis

Satires of Circumstance1914"Ah, are you digging on my grave,My loved one? -- planting rue?"-- "No: yesterday he went to wedOne of the brightest wealth has bred.'It cannot hurt her now,' he said,'That I should not be true.'""Then who is digging on my grave,My nearest dearest kin?"-- "Ah, no: they sit and think, 'What use!What good will planting flowers produce?No tendance of her mound can looseHer spirit from Death's gin.'""But someone digs upon my grave?My enemy? -- prodding sly?"-- "Nay: when she heard you had passed the GateThat shuts on all flesh soon or late,She thought you no more worth her hate,And cares not where you lie."Then, who is digging on my grave?Say -- since I have not guessed!"-- "O it is I, my mistress dear,Your little dog , who still lives near,And much I hope my movements hereHave not disturbed your rest?""Ah yes! You dig upon my grave...Why flashed it not to meThat one true heart was left behind!What feeling do we ever findTo equal among human kindA dog's fidelity!""Mistress, I dug upon your graveTo bury a bone, in caseI should be hungry near this spotWhen passing on my daily trot.I am sorry, but I quite forgotIt was your resting place."

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You people need to brush up on your British Literature. This poem was written in 1914. Hardy was a MODERNIST; between WWI and WWII Modernists wanted to blow your mind and make you think in new ways. This poem is not meant to be romantic, or explore how you will be remembered. It was about shocking the audience and forcing them to work at interpreting the text. Hardy was playing with points of views (psychological realism), relative truth, and alienation. There were three of the five ideals of the Modern Era. It goes DEEPER than a dog digging on a grave, and if that is the only way you interpret it than you are doing Thomas Hardy an injustice!

| Posted on 2010-05-13 | by a guest

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This poem is about the opression of Barney the Dinosaur

| Posted on 2010-04-28 | by a guest

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This poem is about the corruption in Human Society.
Only douchbags connect this with the Helthcare bill

| Posted on 2010-04-16 | by a guest

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this poem is about the corruption in human society... healthcare bill shouldn't have been passed!

| Posted on 2010-04-05 | by a guest

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I think this poem is based on REALISM. In other words, the author is attempting to describe human behavior and surroundings exactly a they appear in life. In the poem, Thomas Hardy show the husband remarrying and her kith and kin saying that there is no use of putting flowers near her grave. The poem doesn't talk about their feelings. If the poem did, then the poem would be a ROMANTICISM poem. If you read the other postings ; they will tell you what the husband and the kin may have thought about. The husband might be thinking the following: If you dwell in the past, your life will be bad. So maybe that is why he remarried. Think of the other people and think what they might be thinking.

| Posted on 2010-03-31 | by a guest

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i think this poem is all about a person who lost his/her love ones. It tell us that how the speaker feels,when her love one died.

| Posted on 2008-12-27 | by a guest

.: Not Everyone Can Be Willi :.

It’s human nature for people to wonder what reactions will be elicited by the loved ones they leave behind, and society is accustomed to thinking that the mourning process is experienced by everyone, and that one’s memory will last forever. However, Thomas Hardy presents a different, shocking scenario of life after death, in his poem, “Ah, Are You Digging On My Grave.”
The poem commences with the question “Ah, are you digging on my grave”, and the reader immediately recognizes what is taking place, because the scene that is presented is one that any and everyone can relate to. The reader may not know who the speaker is, but that doesn’t change the fact, that one can identify with the curiosity the speaker feels, because of the thought, “how will I be remembered, and how will life continue go on without me” floats about in every single living mind. In contrast, the poem also delivers thoughts, emotions, and actions, not typically associated with the deceased and bereaved.
Although the message within the poem is shocking, it is undeniably one that speaks to the reader and touches a tender piece of his or her heart. Hardy successfully creates this effect many ways. Even without the content, the structure of the poem is worth discussing. For instance, all but the last two stanzas open with a question, from the first speaker, and the stanzas close with a reply from the second and every stanza consists of the same rhyme scheme: ABCCCB. This repetitive style acts as a formula, which allows the reader to become familiar with the poem. With that, the reader begins to anticipate what will happen next, and just when a satisfying answer seems to be within reach, the reader is let down. Hardy finally reveals who the second speaker is, but the answer is extremely disappointing and a perfect example of anticlimax. The last two stanzas are written each from a single point of view, which is a perfect format to allow the reader to closely analyze how each party feels about the situation.
In the first stanza, the speaker is revealed to be a woman, and she believes the visitor to be a “loved one” who is “planting rue,” a yellow flower associated with grief. However, she discovers grief is the last thing on her husband’s mind considering just “yesterday he went to wed / one of the brightest wealth has bred” and ignorantly believes “[his actions] cannot hurt her now” because she is dead. Often, the same events unfold in today’s society, which contradicts the statements made about unconditionally loving one another forever and always, but fulfill the vows till death do us part. In fact, the reality is over time the feelings that were so strong may diminish and eventually disappear or evolve in the interest of another. The reader has no idea how much time has elapsed between the lady’s last breath and the husband’s second marriage, but it is easy to see how the lady feels as if her husband not only forgotten about her, but replaces her.
Nonetheless, the first speaker is still anxious to know who has come, and so is the reader. Then first line of the second stanza varies from the one in the first, with the substitution of “then who is” for “ah, are you.” The slight difference of words expresses more of a curious tone. At first, she was definite who the person was, but now she is guessing who it may be. Unfortunately, she assumes wrong, for it is not her “nearest dearest kin.” Not only did her family not come “they sit and think ‘What use / What good wi

| Posted on 2008-03-31 | by a guest

.: Dark Humor :.

This poem is an example of dark humor, as the ending leaves the reader feeling "funny" about the completely uncommon view of death. It is ironic in that the woman in the grave should be the one experiencing so much loss and the ones alive and well in complete darkness about the plight of their dead and departed.

| Posted on 2007-09-05 | by a guest

.: Dark Humor :.

This poem is an example of dark humor, as the ending leaves the reader feeling "funny" about the completely uncommon view of death. It is ironic in that the woman in the grave should be the one experiencing so much loss and the ones alive and well in complete darkness about the plight of their dead and departed.

| Posted on 2007-09-05 | by a guest

.: forgotten :.

I think this plays with the romantic version, where after you die you are cherished forever, by all these traditional means, the dog that waits for his owner to come home every day, is quite a symbol.

This completely reverts it, the womens husband has remarried, and her realtives don't tend her grave.

This doesn't mean that he and her realtives don't care, they could still be very sad, and in their own private way think about her every day, but they are realistically getting on with life as no amount of mourning will bring her back.

The saying "don't live in the past", as you can burn up your own life that way.

The poem has a very quick and jolly rhyme, which is a real contrast to the tale and idea of being forgotten.

| Posted on 2007-09-01 | by a guest

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This poem is viewed from the perspective of the woman whom has died. She can’t see who is above the ground, digging on her grave—so she asks herself,

~‘is it my loved one?’ meaning her husband, planning flowers for her
-but she comes to understand that he has moved on and married a wealthy wife. He feels as though it is his right to move on, since the world doesn’t stop for a dead person. He no longer needs to be true to his wife.

~”is it my dears kin?” Meaning her relative planting flowers to mourn their loss
- but she realizes, why would they sit and think about her? She’s no longer relevant. Flowers can’t bring the spirit of a dead person back.

~”Is it my enemy?” Meaning her foe
-but she realizes, they have moved on, and no longer care what happened to you.
It’s as if she was whipped out of his or her memory.
The enemy realized that once she had died, there is no longer worth the hate

~She than realizes that it’s been her dog that is digging on her grave
She explains it has her most loyal friend who never forgot about her

~however, this gets countered because the dog isn’t digging because he misses his mistress, he was simply digging a hole; so, for his own selfishness, doesn’t go hungry.

The ending is quite ironic—which makes an impact on the reader of betrayal and how lonely death is portrayed in this poetic piece.


| Posted on 2007-04-11 | by a guest

.: Analysis :.

~Lady wondering who is digging up her grave, thought she was forgotten and now hopes someone is remembering her
~wonders if her husband is digging near her grave to plant flowers, remembers that yesterday he married a rich woman, He justifies that his dead wife won’t be hurt by him having a new lover because his wife is dead
~asks if a close relative is digging on her grave, pictures her relatives sitting and thinking “There’s no point in planting flowers or keeping up her gravesite because it won’t bring her back to from death
~ask if it is her enemy digging at her grave, thinks that her enemy is destroying her gravesite since she hates the woman so much, but she rules that out too, because when she died her enemy wouldn’t bother hating her anymore or care where she was buried
~asks who is digging my grave, dog replies he is
~happy that someone remembered her, says dog still loves/remembers her, a dog’s loyalty is truer than any other love
~dog says actually he was just gonna burry a bone and he forgot she was even buried here
~kind of sad, not remembered after death
~also ironic since she keeps thinking everyone is still mourning over her and thinking about her, but in reality they have all forgotten about her, her expectations of others remembering her after her death are let down
~people always think they will be remembered after they die but really not true
~also, challenges idea that dead will not care about what we do/think of them after they die, ex the husband thinks its ok to remarry
(KL)

| Posted on 2006-04-27 | by Approved Guest

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This is a poem that is about this woman's battle to find out who is digging on her grave. She seems to believe that she has been forgotten and is happy to think someone is digging on her grave. When she continues to ask if it is this person or that and finally gives up and asks who it is, they reveal to her that it is her little dog. and the dog tells her that he has forgotten where she was buried and that he has just buried a bone for if he gets hungary on his morning trot.

| Posted on 2006-03-05 | by Approved Guest