A H, ARE YOU DIGGING ON MY GRAVE?

By Thomas Hardy

Ah, are you digging on my grave,
My loved one? -- planting rue?"
-- "No: yesterday he went to wed
One of the brightest wealth has bred.
'It cannot hurt her now,' he said,
'That I should not be true.'"
And much I hope my movements here
"Then who is digging on my grave,
My nearest dearest kin?"
-- "Ah, no: they sit and think, 'What use!
What good will planting flowers produce?
No tendance of her mound can loose
Her spirit from Death's gin.'"
"But someone digs upon my grave?
My enemy? -- prodding sly?"
-- "Nay: when she heard you had passed
the Gate
That shuts on all flesh soon or late,
She thought you no more worth
her hate,
And cares not where you lie.
"Then, who is digging on my grave?
Say -- since I have not guessed!"
-- "O it is I, my mistress dear,
Your little dog, who still lives near,
Have not disturbed your rest?"
"Ah yes! You dig upon my grave...
Why flashed it not to me
That one true heart was left behind!
What feeling do we ever find
To equal among human kind
A dog's fidelity!"
"Mistress, I dug upon your grave
To bury a bone, in case
I should be hungry near this spot
When passing on my daily trot.
I am sorry, but I quite forgot
It was your resting place."

"Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave," is a poem written by Thomas Hardy. The
central theme of this poem is death, which is also seen in several different forms
throughout the works of Thomas Hardy. There is a great deal of disappointment
expressed in this poem. The Oxford Reader's Companion to Hardy deems it, "a satire of
circumstance" (Page 378). Thus, death and the afterlife are things of tragedy in this
particular work. The point that Hardy makes is that no love or hate outlasts death.
An important aspect to the poem's structure is that it is written sequentially in
order to prepare the reader for an unsettling ending. Hardy takes us on a downward
spiral through, as The Pattern of Hardy's Poetry puts it, a "series of steps from
appearance to reality" (Hynes 53). The dead woman believes that someone she loved is
there at her grave. This, however, she finds out is untrue through a devastating sequence
of disappointments. The woman originally suspects that the person at her grave is her
husband, but sadly it is not. In reality, her husband is off with his new love, and feels
that since she is dead it, "cannot hurt her now" (p.48; l.5). Consequently, the woman
guesses again, thinking this time it is her closest of kin. She is, yet again, disappointed.
She finds out that they do not care to think of her anymore. This feeling of neglect is
seen in the line, "What good will planting flowers produce?" (p.48; l.10). In other
words, the family of the woman would rather not think of her than hurt themselves by
doing so. Their reason for not going to see her is that nothing can bring her back from,
"Death's gin" (p.48; l.12). At this point, Hardy has still not revealed the digger's identity.
He continues to do this, according to A Critical Introduction to the Poems of Thomas
Hardy, to show that, "the eager hopefulness of the dead woman is mercilessly
quenched" (Johnson 138).
Next, we come upon a slightly different subject. In the third stanza, the woman
sees now that not only has she been forgotten by her most beloved, but also by her
worst enemy. She is told that her enemy, "cares not where you lie" (p.48; l.18).
Similarly, as with her loved ones, her enemy simply thinks the woman no more worth
her time to worry about.
In the next stanza, the woman has exhausted all of the possibilities, so she gives
up and asks who is there. She now finds out that it is her dog. Hardy himself loved
animals and it is not a surprise that he would use a dog as the digger. As seen in
Victorian Poetry, Hardy, "always championed kindness to animals" (9: 465). He,
however, creates a surprising twist, at the end of the poem. Earlier on, in the fifth
stanza, the woman praises the noble dog, stating how no human can rival, "A dog's
fidelity" (p.49; l.12). In the last stanza of this rather depressing poem, comes the final
blow to the woman. The dog has not remembered her either and has, in fact, mistakenly
trodden upon her grave.
In the words of The Pattern of Hardy's Poetry, the dog believes that her grave is,
"a place to bury bones, not affections" (Hynes 53). So, even her faithful dog does not
care to remember her.
"Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave," is a very tragic and sad poem. It is written
in Victorian Studies that, "Hardy recognized that personal relations provide no sure
refuge from tragic experience" (36: 176). This plainly means that, as far as death is
concerned, few are truly remembered, if any, after they are dead and gone. The most
important parts of the woman's life were, indeed, the people that she knew. From her
husband and her kin, to her worst enemy and loyal animal friend, the woman finds out
little by little that none of them care enough to come to her grave. The dog does,
however, come to her grave but only by mistake. It seems as though the woman has not
lived on in their memories, rather, everything that she was to them was sealed, like
herself, in the grave.

It’s human nature for people to wonder what reactions will be elicited by the loved ones
they leave behind, and society is accustomed to thinking that the mourning process is
experienced by everyone, and that one’s memory will last forever. However, Thomas Hardy
presents a different, shocking scenario of life after death, in his poem, “Ah, Are You Digging
On My Grave.”

The poem commences with the question “Ah, are you digging on my grave”, and the
reader immediately recognizes what is taking place, because the scene that is presented is one
that any and everyone can relate to. The reader may not know who the speaker is, but that
doesn’t change the fact, that one can identify with the curiosity the speaker feels, because of the
thought, “how will I be remembered, and how will life continue go on without me” floats about
in every single living mind. In contrast, the poem also delivers thoughts, emotions, and actions,
not typically associated with the deceased and bereaved.

Although the message within the poem is shocking, it is undeniably one that speaks to
the reader and touches a tender piece of his or her heart. Hardy successfully creates this effect
many ways. Even without the content, the structure of the poem is worth discussing. For
instance, all but the last two stanzas open with a question, from the first speaker, and the stanzas
close with a reply from the second and every stanza consists of the same rhyme scheme:
ABCCCB. This repetitive style acts as a formula, which allows the reader to become familiar
with the poem. With that, the reader begins to anticipate what will happen next, and just when a
satisfying answer seems to be within reach, the reader is let down. Hardy finally reveals who the
second speaker is, but the answer is extremely disappointing and a perfect example of
anticlimax. The last two stanzas are written each from a single point of view, which is a perfect
format to allow the reader to closely analyze how each party feels about the situation.
In the first stanza, the speaker is revealed to be a woman, and she believes the visitor to be a
“loved one” who is “planting rue,” a yellow flower associated with grief. However, she
discovers grief is the last thing on her husband’s mind considering just “yesterday he went to
wed / one of the brightest wealth has bred” and ignorantly believes “[his actions] cannot hurt
her now” because she is dead. Often, the same events unfold in today’s society, which
contradicts the statements made about unconditionally loving one another forever and always,
but fulfill the vows till death do us part. In fact, the reality is over time the feelings that were so
strong may diminish and eventually disappear or evolve in the interest of another. The reader
has no idea how much time has elapsed between the lady’s last breath and the husband’s second
marriage, but it is easy to see how the lady feels as if her husband not only forgotten about her,
but replaces her. Nonetheless, the first speaker is still anxious to know who has come, and so is
the reader. Then first line of the second stanza varies from the one in the first, with the
substitution of “then who is” for “ah, are you.” The slight difference of words expresses more of
a curious tone. At first, she was definite who the person was, but now she is guessing who it
may be. Unfortunately, she assumes wrong, for it is not her “nearest dearest kin.” Not only did
her family not come “they sit and think ‘What use / What good will planting flowers produce?”