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Hardy and Dorset Dialect
Sun 22 Feb
|The Casterbridge Room, The King's Arms
Hardy's use of his native tongue in his novels and poetry
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Time & Location
22 Feb 2026, 14:00 – 17:00
The Casterbridge Room, The King's Arms, 30 High E St, Dorchester DT1 1HF, UK
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About the event
Hardy and Dorset Dialect
Date: Sunday, 22nd February 2026
Time: 2pm to 5pm
Venue: The Casterbridge Room, The King's Arms, Dorchester
Cost: £10 THS and WBS Members; £15 Non-Members (includes tea and cake)
Thomas Hardy, a native of Dorset, masterfully incorporated the local dialect into his novels, using it to reveal character, emotion, and a vanishing rural culture, often contrasting it with Standard English. Hardy's teacher and mentor, William Barnes, was a dialect champion, and had a major influence on Hardy throughout his life.
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