Was Thomas Hardy (poet) ever involved during WW1?
Thomas Hardy, 2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928 You are quite correct he did not do anything in WW1. I was looking around and I came across this fact:- In 1870 Hardy met and fell in love with Emma Lavinia Gifford, whom he married in 1874. Although he later became estranged from his wife, who died in 1912, her death had a traumatic effect on him. After her death, Hardy made a trip to Cornwall to revisit places linked with their courtship, and his Poems 1912-13 reflect upon her passing. In 1914, Hardy married his secretary Florence Emily Dugdale, who was 39 years his junior. However, he remained preoccupied with his first wife’s death and tried to overcome his remorse by writing poetry. This would explain why he did not write anything regarding the war, he was still grieving over the death of his first wife. WW1 was 1914 to 1918, so that is the only reason I can think of for him not writing war poems. He would also be a good age and not suitable for war work so perhaps they never bothered to
