In “The Ruined Maid,” Thomas Hardy uses dramatic dialogue between two women who used to work together on a farm. The speaker, who still works at the farm, runs into an old friend named Amelia. The speaker immediately notices a vast difference in Amelia and is obviously envious of her appearance, language, and wealth. Amelia makes it clear, from the start of the poem, continuing in every stanza, that she has become this way because she is “ruined” – a prostitute. Throughout the poem, Hardy uses dialogue, caesuras, and irony to convey his purpose for writing the poem. Hardy’s purpose in this poem is to say one should not judge another’s happiness by her appearance. This poem is a dramatic dialogue composed of six quatrains. In most of the stanzas, Hardy uses language and imagery in the first part of the stanza to contrast the second part: “You left us in tatters, without shoes or socks, Tired of digging potatoes, and spudding up docks; And now you've gay bracelets and bright feathers three!” --- “Yes: that's how we dress when we're ruined,” said she (5-8). With this, a pattern arises – the farm worker reminds Amelia how things used to be for her and then remarks on how much better things are for her now. Another, even more obvious pattern is in the last line of every stanza, Amelia tells her friend that she has become this way because she is "ruined." Even though her friend is fawning over her, Amelia is constantly reminding her that although on the outside it seems she is doing well, it has come with the fact that she is now a prostitute, and in some ways, she is worse off than her friend even though it may not seem that way. This come back to not judging one by their appearance because even though everything may seem perfect with Amelia, she keeps emphasizing to her friend that she is ruined – not someone to be envied. Hardy uses a rhyme scheme that gives the poem a sound like a nursery rhyme. Starting in h