Thomas Hardy, Metaphysics and Music

This fascinating new study by Mark Asquith offers an original approach to Hardy's art as a novelist and entirely new readings of certain musical scenes in Hardy's works. Asquith utilizes a rich seam of original archival research (both scientific and musicological), which will be of use to all Hardy scholars, and discusses a range of Hardy's major works in relation to musical metaphors - from early fiction The Poor Man and the Lady to later major works Jude the Obscure, Far From the Madding Crowd, the Mayor of Casterbridge .

'One of the best books on Hardy published in recent years...I was struck by how coherent, well-illustrated and informative it is, opening up a world of musicological debate and making sense of it; relating it to the way that the nineteenth century thought about emotion, embodiment and their transmission; and of course applying it in numerous incisive ways to a range of Hardy's work, taking in issues including the Darwinian landscape, social life, courtship and the chorus...An impressive and elegant book.' - Tim Armstrong, Royal Holloway, UK

Autorentext
MARK ASQUITH is a teacher of English at Trinity School in London. He is the author of a number of articles on Hardy and Wagner.

Inhalt
Introduction 'The Road to Norcombe Hill': Hardy's Musical Evolution 'Silent Workings of the Invisible Hand': Hardy's Metaphysical Evolution The 'Spider's Web': Metaphysics into 'Music Drama' 'The Plucked Harp String': Desire, Courtship Ritual and the Debate Concerning Speech Theory A Tale of 'Tragical Possibilities': Music and the Birth of Consciousness in The Return of the Native 'A Tragedy Appropriate for its Time': Music and the Story of a 'Man of Character' 'All Creation Groaning': A Deaf Ear to Music in Jude the Obscure Conclusion Bibliography Index