The poem opens with a question uttered by a deceased speaker lying within a grave: “‘Ah, are you digging on my grave / My loved one?—planting rue?’” (Lines 1-2). The first line sets a pattern for a <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Literary Device" href="https://www.supersummary.com/refrain/">refrain</a> that will take slightly different forms in each stanza, with the speaker attempting to guess who the mystery visitor at her gravesite is. The speaker is then answered by the mystery visitor, who reveals the unfortunate truth about the person the speaker has mentioned. The speaker’s first guess is that her “loved one”—a romantic partner—has come to mourn and commemorate her, perhaps even planting the flower “rue” as a symbol of his sorrow. However, the mystery visitor reveals that the speaker’s beloved has recently “wed” (Line 3) another woman instead of remaining faithful to the dead speaker’s memory. The beloved justified his transfer of affections by reasoning that, since his former love is now deceased, “It cannot hurt her now [...] / That I should not be true’” (Lines 5-6). This indifference on the part of the beloved towards the deceased speaker is the first of several disillusionments the speaker will experience as the poem progresses. In the second stanza, the same pattern plays out.

Analysis: “Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?”

Values & Ideas

Appearance Versus Reality

Literary Area of Study

British Literature

Emotions & Behavior

Grief

Genres

Laugh-out-Loud Books

Loyalty & Betrayal

Memory

Life & Time

Mortality & Death

Poetry

Short Poems

Victorian Literature

Literary Movement

Victorian Literature / Period

Thomas Hardy

Adult

Poem

Fiction

Guide

Study Guide

title

content

Overview

Get ready to explore Ah Are You Digging On My Grave and its meaning. Our full analysis and study guide provides an even deeper dive with character analysis and quotes explained to help you discover the complexity and beauty of this book.

Ah Are You Digging On My Grave Summary and Study Guide

Background

Get ready to explore Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave and its meaning. Our full analysis and study guide provides an even deeper dive with character analysis and quotes explained to help you discover the complexity and beauty of this book.

Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave

Poem Analysis

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