First published in 1917, this collection is full of typical Hardy poems, including several which record his response to the First World War. Thomas Hardy wrote in a great variety of poetic forms including lyrics, ballads, satire, dramatic monologues, and dialogue, and though in some ways a very traditional poet, because he was influenced by folksong and ballads, he "was never conventional," and "persistently experiment ed] with different, often invented, stanza forms and metres and made use of "rough-hewn rhythms and colloquial dic-tion."