Afterwards
Afterwards
by Thomas Hardy

Afterwards Themes

Little Words, Big Ideas

Mortality

In this poem, the speaker reflects on how he will be remembered after he is dead. Oddly, the poet never once uses the word "death" or "die" – go to "Symbols, Imagery, Wordplay" for some of th...

Man and the Natural World

If you're all depressed from the death stuff in "Afterwards," don't worry; there are plenty of natural images that suggest life and renewal, to counteract all the doom and gloom. Hardy liked balanc...

Memory and the Past

This poem is a meditation on death, but it's not just about the act of dying – it's about how the speaker imagines that he will be remembered after his death. Will he be remembered as a poet?...

Time

Unsurprisingly, given the importance of "Memory and the Past" to "Afterwards," Hardy also has a lot to say about the passage of time, aging, and the way our consciousness changes through time. He p...