Hardy describes love as a curse throughout the poem. This was done by using a range of language devices which present the love as a curse. I will be exploring all the different ways in which Thomas Hardy has used different language features and devices and explain them in great detail. Also, I will be making links to how Thomas Hardy may have linked his poem to how the love may have been cursed between the two people in the poem. The second point is when Thomas Hardy says ‘tedious riddles of years ago’. The fact that Thomas Hardy has mentioned riddles explains how their love may have been similar as they find it hard to understand and crack each other which is also the same scenario in a riddle. Also, he mentions it as a memory as it is something that has happened in the past and can be looked back upon as a bad memory. This is a curse as it shows how the whole love was not real and could be seen as a trap for him to be hurt.  The first way in which Thomas Hardy has presented love as a curse would be the way he was describing a pond on a ‘winter day’. This quotation has a sense of negativity because of how he mentioned the season. The season is during winter and the fact that he has mentioned this suggests that it is a bad memory due to the fact that cold, winter days are known to be dull and miserable. This makes a link to how the love may have been quite negative and how there was no real bond. This also links to how the love may be portrayed as a curse as curses generally represent negative things.