Poetry · Chapter
Women He Liked explained
The poem reflects on Bob Hayward, an old farmer who loved women, horses, and especially trees.
What happens
The poem reflects on Bob Hayward, an old farmer who loved women, horses, and especially trees. He planted elms along a lane that later became known as Bob's Lane. After his death, the lane fell into disrepair, and only the name remains.
Themes in this chapter
Memory and Time
The lane's name outlasts Bob Hayward, preserving his memory despite the decay of the physical place.
Place and Belonging
Bob's Lane is a named place tied to a person's life and labor, now reclaimed by nature.
Characters to notice
- Bob Hayward
Old farmer of the Heath, shovel-bearded, loved women, horses, and trees; planted elms along the lane.
Key passages
“Women he liked, did shovel-bearded Bob, Old Farmer Hayward of the Heath, but he Loved horses.”
Bob Hayward, an old farmer with a beard like a shovel, enjoyed the company of women, but his true passion was for horses.
Introduces Bob's character and his priorities.
“To name a thing beloved man sometimes fails.”
People often struggle to give a name to something they love.
Reflects on the difficulty of naming what is cherished.
“Many years since, Bob Hayward died, and now None passes there because the mist and the rain Out of the elms have turned the lane to slough And gloom, the name alone survives, Bob’s Lane.”
Bob Hayward died long ago, and now no one travels the lane because the mist and rain from the elms have made it muddy and dark; only the name 'Bob's Lane' remains.
Describes the decay of the lane after Bob's death, with only the name enduring.