In our project, our group, which comprises of Hassan Al-Tabch and I, Ali Saklaoui, analyzed the life of Thomas Hardy in addition to his selected literary works: Far from the Madding Crowd, Jude the Obscure, Tess D’Urbervilles and The Mayor of Casterbridge. Thomas Hardy was one of the most renowned poets and novelists in the Victorian Era. We aimed to explore his life and selected works for our project through the lens of Digital Humanities tools such as Voyant Tools, TopoText, Google My Maps and CLiC to explore how his life experiences had their effect on his pen. Using these tools, we first dug into Hardy’s early life to track his upcoming into novelist/poet. Hardy grew up in an isolated cottage in Dorset surrounded by nature’s green scenery which later inspired him in his writings. Furthermore, our analysis unraveled how Hardy has distinctively portrayed nature in his own unique style and perspective in his works. In addition, we investigated the use of bird imagery in his writings to display clashing aspects of life, suffering and joy. Moreover, we analyzed how Hardy addressed gender issues in the Victorian Era. Our findings and analysis are thoroughly displayed in the our timeline.
Ali's Blog 