Summary: Chosen Poems, compliled by Hardy himself later in life is an essential look at Hardy the poet. While Hardy the novelist spun tales of romance and intrigue, his poetry suggests a more reflective tone. The sentimental nature of most of his poems thrusts the reader into a mind coursing madly about lost loves, and the ancestrial rememberances of better times. The metaphors are thick and the syntax archaic to a modern ear, however the sing song nature of much of the rhyme and meter ushers those of us in generation X back to the day of green eggs and ham. Near the end of the 1978 edition edited by Francis Shapiro Puk Hardy's Epic Poem recounting the life of Napolean is added making that edition a more complete and fulfilling read. I recommend Thomas Hardy's Chosen Poems as a vehicle to transport the bored reader to a time of ideal notions and lofty reflections. Your time will be well spent and your vocabulary improved!