Thomas Hardy's 'Aberdeen'

by Martin Ray

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Aberdeen

(April: 1905)

And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times.' -
ISAIAH, XXXIII 6

    I LOOKED and thought, 'All is too gray and cold
    To wake my place-enthusiasms of old!'
    Till a voice passed: 'Behind that granite mien
    Lurks the imposing beauty of a Queen.'
    I looked anew; and saw the radiant form
    Of Her who soothes in stress, who steers in storm,
    On the grave influence of whose eyes sublime
    Men count for the stability of the time.


In conversation with a friend, Hardy once defined the 'Queen' of the poem as 'Knowledge': see J. O. Bailey, The Poetry of Thomas Hardy: A Handbook and Commentary (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1970), p. 257.

Below is a photograph of Marischal College, the granite building which Hardy was recalling in the poem.
Marischal College was founded in 1593 by George Keith, Fourth Earl Marischal of Scotland. It is claimed to be the second largest granite building in the world, exceeded only by Spain's Escorial, once the home of the Spanish monarchy. The frontage is over 400 feet long, with an average height of 80 feet.

Hardy visited Aberdeen in north-east Scotland only once (in April 1905) and he came to receive his first honorary degree. This was conferred in the Mitchell Hall, so he would have entered Marischal College (one of the two colleges which constitute Aberdeen University) by the gate on the left of the picture and walked straight across the Quad to the Mitchell Hall, whose entrance is the tower shown in the background.

If you would like to read more about Hardy's visit to Aberdeen and the publication of the poem, please click here.