Thomas Hardy feels that Edgon Heath, the setting of the novel The Return of the
             Native is a powerful, scary, dark and dreary place. He uses various techniques to express
             this attitude. Some of the techniques he used to convey this thought are diction, imagery,
             The diction he choose was specific and concrete, presenting an actual place that
             was depressing. The words he used attempted to present a specific, concrete perception
             of things. Such as when he writes, "approaching the time of twilight and the vast tract of
             unenclosed ild known as Egdon Heath embrowned itself moment by moment". This
             presents a specific place, time and a specific insight which leaves with the thought of a
             Imagery played a very important role in Harding's portrayal of the heath as a
             powerful, scary, live place. The imagery develops a light and dark imagery. The heath,
             earth is the dark and gloomy image, while the surrounding nature is light and good. He
             refers to the heath's color as, "embrowned itself moment by moment," and says that the
             "hollow stretch of whitish cloud shutting over the sky." He refers to the heath as dark on
             many occasions, he says the "earth with the darkest vegetation... In such contrast the
             heath wore the appearance of an installment of night... darkness had to a great extent
             arrived hereon... the heath exhaling darkness." These references of the heath as dark, give
             us a gloomy, somber feel of the heath. Harding also uses metaphors to make us aware of
             the power and life that Edgon Heath has. As in when he says "the face of the heath by its
             mere complexion added half an hour to evening... the place became full of a watchful
             intentness now: for when other things sank brooding to a sleep the heath appeared slowly
             to awake and listen." These metaphors and personifications allow us to see that the he
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