You can see why Larkin would enjoy reading Hardy. There is more of the gently resigned in Hardy, but the same sense of the transience of love/life and the small consolation of being 'less deceived' pervade both.
This poem usually carries the sub-title, 'A reflection on his eighty-sixth birthday'. After such a long time to think about it, what observation does he make? That the best we can hope for are 'neutral tinted haps'.
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This poem usually carries the sub-title, 'A reflection on his eighty-sixth birthday'. After such a long time to think about it, what observation does he make? That the best we can hope for are 'neutral tinted haps'.