Record Number: 12841

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

`My dear Watson: Who would have supposed that I should write to thank you for your considerateness in sending the Ode, in such circumstances as the present. If the Coronation should never come off, future generations will add a footnote to the verses - then no longer copywright! - to remind readers of their remarkable history; which though it will not increase the value of what is intrinsially so fine, will lend a curious secondary intersst to them. However, as the Coronation will probably happen after all, it is useless to speculate in this way. I will not attempt to criticise. All I can say is that the Ode struck me on a first reading & still impresses me, as being a piece of your very highest work; & to reach the level of your former productions is no mean achievement. Ideas & execution are singularly sustained throughout. I cannot find any place where they dip or falter: & my regret at coming to the last page was that there was no more of the poem. Believe me Sincerely yours Thomas Hardy`

Century:

1900-1945

Date:

unknown

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Dorchester
county: Dorset
specific address: Max Gate

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Thomas Hardy

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

2 Jun 1840

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Author

Religion:

agnostic

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

Circumstances in which Hardy read the Ode are not clear. Probably a solitary experience but cannot be certain as he did sometimes read material aloud to others.

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

William Watson

Title:

Ode on the Day of the Coronation of King Edward VII

Genre:

Poetry

Form of Text:

Print: Unknown, Probably a pamphlet or book

Publication Details

London, 1902

Provenance

unknown
Watson sent poem to Hardy

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Source Information:

Record ID:

12841

Source:

Print

Author:

Thomas Hardy

Editor:

Richard Little Purdy

Title:

The Collected Letters of Thomas Hardy

Place of Publication:

Oxford

Date of Publication:

1982

Vol:

3

Page:

26

Additional Comments:

Letter from Hardy to William Watson, June 30th.1902 MS Walter E. Swayze

Citation:

Thomas Hardy, Richard Little Purdy (ed.), The Collected Letters of Thomas Hardy, (Oxford, 1982), 3, p. 26, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=12841, accessed: 02 May 2024

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Additional Comments:

None