In the poem ‘Neutral tones’, Thomas Hardy portrays love as deceiving by using a range of figurative language. In this essay I will be identifying such techniques which successfully us to understand such a view.

In ‘Neutral Tones’, Thomas Hardy describes a pond on a ‘Winter day’. This shows a sense of negativity by placing ‘winter in front of the word ‘pond’ We identify that ‘winter’ as dull and miserable, that in itself helps us to see Hardy’s perceptive of love is negative as his description is not one that we would normally link with a pond due to the fact that ponds are normally seen as romantic, peaceful and relaxing. Thomas Hardy lets us into his bad memory which gives the reader a sense of foreboding.

Another way in which Thomas Hardy presents love as deceiving in ‘Neutral tones’ is when he talks about the leafs laying on the ‘starving sod’. He uses a simile here to give the impression of how the leaves are dying out which can also relate to how their love is slowly burning out between the couples relationship. This example links to the fact that love is being described as deceiving as their love can slowly turn out to have a negative impact and also proves how he has fell into a trap, resulting to his feeling getting hurt.

A third point in which Thomas Hardy has presented love as deceiving is by mentioning ‘love deceives’. This quotation is a personification and therefore uses it to make a link to a negative theme through the word ‘deceive’. By using this word, we can now understand that most  couple’s love relationship can consist only of lies and lack of trust. We are told that in love is only tricking people to what they think it is. Comparing this to their relationship, it informs the reader about what type of relationship these two people share in the poem. Again, this links to the idea that their love between this couple can be portrayed as deceiving.

Another way that Thomas Hardy presents love as deceiving is when he describes how her smile was was a ‘grin of bitterness’. In this quotation, it shows how the smile on the girl’s face was fake. The fact that her smile was a fake smile can also portray how their relationship is. This then suggests that she is going to break bad news to him due to the fact she shows a fake smile but doesn’t want to hurt his feelings. The word ‘bitterness’ also shows how it was cutting into him and effecting him, a feeling that is strongly similar to that of a lemon. All of this can be linked to the theme of love being presented as deceiving simply because of how their relationship was not as strong other relationships also being fake and can therefore love being seen as a lie.

The next point I would like to make is how Thomas Hardy has included how they ‘stood by a pond’. This shows that they are in a negative situation because of how they are standing rather than sitting. The reason for is that if they were sitting we would think that they were comfortable but as they are standing clearly shows that they are in an awkward situation and they are not comfortable. Thomas Hardy also uses past tense so we know that he also has bad memories.  It must have been an extremely significant point in his life as he couldn’t specify any small details. This can be seen as part of his life has affected him strongly and is a memory that has stuck with him and almost haunts him in a way, therefore presents love as deceiving.

Finally, love is shown as deceiving by Thomas Hardy when he wrote ‘tedious riddles of years ago’. The fact that Thomas Hardy has mentioned riddles explains how their love may have been hard to understand and crack which can also relate to the same scenario in a riddle. Also, he mentions it as a memory, something that has happened in the past and can be looked back upon as only a bad memory. This links to love as being deceiving because unanswered riddles can lead to a trap within their relationship breaking each other apart.

In conclusion, Thomas Hardy successfully and effectively presents love as deceiving in ‘Neutral tones’ by exploring figurative languages such as metaphors and similes so that the reader can understand in great detail how their loveless relationship is not what on would imagine it to be.