Hardy and Comets

Abstract

Comets seem to have fascinated Thomas Hardy. This study begins with placing his interest in comets in the context of his times and of his lifelong interest in astronomy. Comets figure prominently in three of Hardy's works: "The comet at Yell'ham," a poem; Two on a Tower, a romance; and a headpiece, a drawing of a comet.   Analysis of the use of comets in these follows, with particular attention given to Two on a Tower, Hardy's "astronomical novel."  A discussion of what comets signify in Hardy's fictional world juxtaposes the narrator's view with those of the rustics. This is followed by a look at the eight cometary images in the other novels and poems as further evidence of Hardy's fascination by comets, a fascination that contributed to the shaping of his "idiosyncratic mode of regard."