Bücher von J. O. Bailey

Provides the background necessary for fully understanding the nearly one thousand poems of Hardy. As it treats the poems individually and often supplements the analysis of a poem by relating it to other poems and to passages in the fiction, every comment helps build a portrait of Hardy as a poet. Originally published in 1970.

Bailey points out in this book that Hardy found a reasoned basis for his meliorism in Von Hartmann's Philosophy of the Unconscious. Hardy's philosophic thought influenced his interpretation of history. His Napoleon is not an example of failure with historical character "but is a graphically imagined projection of an idea".