The Levelled Churchyard - A poem by Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy - The Levelled Churchyard

"O passenger, pray list and catch 
   Our sighs and piteous groans, 
Half stifled in this jumbled patch 
   Of wrenched memorial stones! 

"We late-lamented, resting here, 
   Are mixed to human jam, 
And each to each exclaims in fear, 
   'I know not which I am!' 

"The wicked people have annexed 
   The verses on the good; 
A roaring drunkard sports the text 
   Teetotal Tommy should! 

"Where we are huddled none can trace, 
   And if our names remain, 
They pave some path or p-ing place 
   Where we have never lain! 

"There's not a modest maiden elf 
   But dreads the final Trumpet, 
Lest half of her should rise herself, 
   And half some local strumpet! 

"From restorations of Thy fane, 
   From smoothings of Thy sward, 
From zealous Churchmen's pick and plane 
   Deliver us O Lord! Amen!"

Added: on July 15th, 2005 at 9:34 AM | Viewed: 1907 times | Comments (3)

The Levelled Churchyard - Comments and Information
Poet: Thomas Hardy Poem: The Levelled Churchyard Poem of the Day on: Jan 10 2007 Comment 3 of 3, added on March 15th, 2007 at 12:18 PM. this poem, i think, is about Hardy's feelings towards actually watching the bodies being dug up and then moved around. He feels as if the spirits are talking to him saying that they do not want their bodies to be put back into the wrong graves, as this may be a gravestones marked wrongly. An example would be a drunkard being put into a grave with the label of teetotal, and Hardy is putting across through this poem that this is how the people would have felt, as they will now be lying in graves where they "have never lain before". nikki from United Kingdom Comment 2 of 3, added on October 2nd, 2005 at 2:31 AM. Thomas Hardy was rather more involved with the church of St Pancras than the station. The viaduct leading into the station crossed part of the burial ground of St Pancras Church and excavations for the viaduct required disturbance to a large number of inhuamtions. Hardy was employed by William Blomfield to oversee the exhumation of the burial ground to try and ensure it was effected in a dignified manner. Hardy's poem suggests the exhumation work remained a lasting memory. There is a tree in the present day St Pancras Gardens which grows through a pile of massed gravestones which has been christened the 'Hardy Tree'. Kevin Wooldridge from United Kingdom Comment 1 of 3, added on July 15th, 2005 at 9:34 AM. Thomas Hardy was a young architectural assistant working on the train station - St. Pancras Station, London, completed in 1868 and became the largest enclosed structure in the world at that time. The location was just south of Regent's Canal and St. Pancras Church, named after an early Christian martyr who died at the age of 14. To pass the canal, engineers had to build a bridge and relocate St. Pancras cemetary. Thomas Hardy never forgot the sight of coffins being moved and later wrote this poem. Thomas Steven Furnish from United States More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, The Levelled Churchyard, has received 3 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Thomas Hardy with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!

Poem Info
The Levelled Churchyard Last read: 2010-02-09 05:32:24 Poem of the Day on: Jan 10 2007 Viewed 1907 times. Added on July 15th, 2005 at 9:34 AM.

Hardy Info
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