Thomas Hardy's Work Box I have to admit that when I first read this poem I didn't realize that there were allusions and clues suggesting possible hidden truths. When I first read the poem, I thought it was a coincidence. Reading this poem a second time and researching it showed that there are some suspicions. Thomas Hardy's "The Workbox" is about a man who perhaps knew more than his wife thought he knew. I have a feeling the husband knew something about his wife's past. In stanzas one and two, the husband gives his wife a gift. At first, she was happy to receive the gift her husband had given her. In stanzas three, four, and five, she discovers that the gift was made from wood taken from the coffin of a man named John Wayward. When she learned this information, her initial reaction to the gift changed. Why then? Her husband wondered the same thing. The woman turned pale and turned her face away. What part of the husband's information made him react this way? It is this reaction that initiates suspicion. This leads the reader to ask a number of questions. One of the questions that comes to mind is: why did she react the way she did? Is she concerned that the gift was made of materials from the man lying in the coffin? In the eighth stanza, the husband questions his wife about the change in her reaction. Was it because she discovered that the material for the work box came from a grave? In the ninth stanza, the wife responds by saying "such things will never have any effect on my imaginations." She says the fact that the work box was made from the wood of the coffin didn't affect her. This lets me know that the material the work box was made from did not cause its second reaction by its own recognition...... middle of paper ...... and that I believe that the man's name is not a coincidence provided that in the poem the author is unconsciously trying to tell us something about this character John Wayward. In particular, he tries to tell us that the man had a relationship with the woman. John's last name indicates that he might be the type of person who wouldn't care whether a woman was married or not, as long as he could satisfy his own desires. That being said, Hardy emphasizes that we should read between the lines. Everything in this poem is an unspoken message. For example, the wife's reaction, knowing John Wayward, the coffin, and even Wayward's name are unspoken messages. These messages clearly indicate that the woman cheated on her husband. They also point out that the husband knew about his wife's adulterous relationship with John Wayward and may have had something to do with Wayward's death..