This guide focuses on one of the most popular of 20th century poets. If offers a thorough introduction to Hardy's poetry, mainly for readers with little or no previous acquaintance with it. It begins with a simple conversation with the student about a group of poems under four headings. Then, after a chapter summarizing the relevant events of Hardy's life, chapters three to six expand on each of these four headings; seeing; love; death; and language. In these chapters further poems are used to show how these topics and themes permeate Hardy's poetic work. The book's final two chapters relate the poetry to wider matters. These include the social, economic and cultural background of Hardy's time, and the critical debates which have evolved about his work.