Under the Waterfall - Thomas Hardy
A Poetic Meditation on Memory’s Unfading Echo
Whenever I plunge my arm, like this,
In a basin of water, I never miss
The sweet sharp sense of a fugitive day
Fetched back from its thickening shroud of gray.
Hence the only prime
And real love-rhyme
That I know by heart
And that leaves no smart,
Is the purl of a little valley-fall
About three spans wide and two spans tall
Over a table of solid rock,
And into a scoop of the self-same block;
The purl of a runlet that never ceases
In stir of kingdoms, in wars, in peaces;
With a hollow boiling voice it speaks
And has spoken since hills were turfless peaks.
And why gives this the only prime
Idea to you of a real love-rhyme?
And why does plunging your arm in a bowl
Full of spring water, bring the sense of that fall?
Because by that spot, of yore, you said:
"There could not be heard a sound of dread,
And the tiniest living things were to be
Slain by the falling water's cruelty;"
And hence we spoke
Of the heart, of its cloak,
And of all such folles
As even love lulls,
And I looked, and I thought: "Will there ever be
A time when I shall hold up to me
As she does now, that love of hers?"
That was the first I had heard such spurs.
The purl was scarce louder now than then,
And 'tis there that I've perched my fancy again;
As each new plunge in the basin I make
Brings forth the old scene, that anew awakes.
Hence the only prime
And real love-rhyme
That I know by heart
And that leaves no smart,
Is the purl of that little valley-fall
About three spans wide and two spans tall
Over a table of solid rock,
And into a scoop of the self-same block;
The purl of a runlet that never ceases
In stir of kingdoms, in wars, in peaces;
With a hollow boiling voice it speaks
And has spoken since hills were turfless peaks.
Thomas Hardy’s “Under the Waterfall” explores the potent connection between a physical sensation—in this case, plunging an arm into water—and the sudden recall of cherished memories. Hardy uses the recurring image of water as a symbol of time’s constant motion. Even as kingdoms rise and fall, the simple act of touching water can trigger an outpouring of personal reflection. In the poem, the speaker associates the purling waterfall with an intimate moment of love and shared vows, underlining how certain experiences become timeless landmarks in the mind.
By returning to the same physical gesture (dipping an arm into a basin), the speaker essentially ‘travels’ back to the original scene by the waterfall. Hardy contrasts the gentle, continuous flow of water with the fleeting nature of human life, suggesting that while life moves on, certain memories remain steadfast in the heart. The poem highlights the longing to reconnect with earlier wonder and affection, implying that every revisit to that memory stirs the same emotional resonance.
Ultimately, Hardy’s verse reveals how seemingly mundane actions can become portals to our deeper selves. Water’s ceaseless motion stands for an eternal reminder of both change and permanence—our surroundings transform, yet the emotional truth of crucial moments stays ever-vibrant within us. Through finely wrought imagery and quiet reflection, “Under the Waterfall” becomes a testament to how love, memory, and nature’s rhythms intertwine to shape our inner world.
Key points
1. Simple, repeated actions can evoke vivid, enduring memories.
2. Water symbolizes the intertwining of constancy and change in human experience.
3. Hardy illustrates how love and shared moments become timeless anchors for the heart.
4. Sensory details—touch, sound, sight—can bridge the present with the recollected past.
