Under the Greenwood Tree is Hardy's most bright confident & optimistic novel. This delightful portrayal of a picturesque rural society tinged with gentle humour & quiet irony established Hardy as a writer. However the novel is not merely a charming rural idyll. The double-plot in which the love story of Dick Dewey & Fancy Day is inter-related with a tragic chapter in the history of Mellstock Choir hints at the poignant disappearance of a long-lived & highly-valued traditional way of life.