Thomas Hardy, a famous poet in the 19th Century, has written some very touching poems. During the period of 1912-1913 Hardy provided readers with some of his most emotive and personal poems. A study of this collection revealed that these poems related to Thomas Hardy's life. It became apparent that Thomas wrote these poems motivated by the ironic death of his wife Emma. Thomas was not looking for sympathy but was seeking forgiveness from his late wife, and he wanted to apologise for the way he had treated her before her death. The irony being that when she was alive Thomas had been embarrassed of her and after she had died he realised how much he loved her. To show his love for her, Thomas wrote these poems.

Thomas's immediate feelings after Emma had died are reflected in the poem `The Going'. This was the first poem he...