The poem surrounds the speaker, a man who feels he loves a woman. However, she does not return his love and instead rejects him. Hardy emphasizes these feelings primarily through repetition. In lines one and eight he repeats the phrase “You didn't come” (Hardy, The Broken Appointment). Then he does it again in lines nine and sixteen, this time repeating the phrase "You don't love me" (Hardy, The Broken Appointment). While the repetition used by Hardy emphasizes a point and emphasizes the speaker's feelings, Hardy's change in meter and cadence allows the repetition to express its full effect. He begins and ends each stanza with short four-syllable phrases that repeat one another. On the other hand, all the other lines of the poem are ten syllables each. By changing the meter and cadence the reader can almost feel the speaker's heart breaking as he is read. The repetition in the poem reinforces the wounded tone of the poem