The purpose of this paper is to provide a stylistic analysis that contrasts five Thomas Hardy settings by Gerald Finzi with five settings by John Ireland. In order to investigate the apparent intuitiveness with which both Ireland and Finzi approached Thomas Hardy's poetry, biographical information is provided to reveal similarities in the backgrounds of each composer. Highlighted are the compositional techniques and text setting ideologies each composer utilized when facing the challenges and eccentricities of Hardy's poetry. A brief discussion on the philosophical foundations of Thomas Hardy's poetry is also included. The repertoire discussed within are the settings Summer Schemes , The Phantom , Rollicum-Rorum , The Clock of the Years , and Channel Firing by Gerald Finzi as well as Summer Schemes , The tragedy of that moment , Beckon to me to come , Dear, think not that they will forget you and Weathers by John Ireland.