Extended commentary of ‘The Darkling Thrush’ by Thomas Hardy Essay

On the title A thrush is a domestic fowl plump, soft-plum develop, small to medium-sized, often inhabiting jungly beas. They feed on the ground or eat small fruit besides atomic number 18nt far-famed for their songs. Examples include a robin. Darkling is an archaic word for a creature of darkness or in the dark. insolent uses it in its latter mavin the red cent appears in a very sorry scene, at the end of the daytime, at the end of the year (and century, for that matter). It in any case has negative con nonations as well, however for obvious reasons.Potential different implications darkling is possibly used to create a diminutive form of the thrush (like a duckling). Other critics have identified the title as explaining, or preparing the reader for the unexpected advent of the bird half way through the rime, appearing into the scene from nowhere. Perhaps Hardy was attempting to use an antiquitated word to still demonstrate the bird is bringing joy to a dark reaso n, and that at that place exists an enormous time leaving between the new century and the old?Overall Structure Hardy uses four regular eighter from Decatur cable iambic stanzas in either tetrameter or trimeter, dep finale on the length of the line. This meter creates a poetic lilt, with alternate stressed feet. It seems very out of place in such a uncheerful song we must question why this is. Does it reflect the hope expressed at the end of the poem, or prepares us for it? Or does it signalise of an oddity within the section is his negative manner actually genuine perhaps we shouldnt accept the constituents judgment/emotions to the same extent as hed like us to? His choice of rhyme scheme and meter along with the harsh subject take apart to match up.Themes Time (passing of century), Isolation, Man and the Natural World.Difficult Language Notes Darkling discussed above. Illimited is an archaic form of inexhaustible.First and trice Stanza Notes As usual, Hardy presents u s with an image, this time of a landscape a depressing unmatchable, at that. This poem was published at the end of the century 31st December 1900 (Hardy was one of those volume who believe that a century is complete when the hundredth year is over.) It is very cold and frosty and the day is suppuration to a close. It really is the end of a century.And Hardy presents us with a very get to image of death he later personifies the Century itself as being dead. The prototypical two stanzas are full of death-language1. When Frost was spectre-gray. A clear example of ghost imagery (a spectre). This line is of interest on its own, due to the obvious personification of Frost. This is a good place to chance on a signalise note about the poem itself. Throughout, we discover a distinct Hardy-esque style the surround is unpleasant and it demonstrates his usual antics in animism. Hardy develops complex (and often deeply personal) symbolic systems which deal well-nigh exclusively with th e natural world. The reader is made personal with non- gentle entities like frost and birds entirely avoids people eventide the persona is a subject avoided in great detail.1. Back with the death imagery, The weakening eye of day a comment on the darkening sky the day is dying.1. All mankind that stalk nigh haunted is intelligibly a interview to death and ghosts. Hardy is commenting on the lack of human life in his scene they had sought their household fires. A further indication of the low temperature. Is it a hint that the world is ending? Or is that just a little extreme? In any(prenominal) case, note how the rest of humanity are seeking light in an otherwise dark environment.The sanction stanza contains an extended metaphor involving the dead century, but we need to examine the first stanza more before pitiable on.Hardys persona is leaning upon a coppice gate a gate into a small woods or coppice. It is a highly ambiguous persona (another thing to explore), but he le ans nevertheless. The scene is wintry, indeed, along with Frost, Winter is personified equally Winters dregs made innocent/ The weakening eye of day. The dregs of the season indicate a very cold atmosphere one without much colour. Clearly this has emptied the scene of any colourful sight upon which the eye of day weakens. The day is ending thus dusk darkens the scene.Tangled bine-stems scored the sky/ Like strings of broken lyres. As before mentioned, the persona is standing in woodland, thus Bine-stems are tree branches. Hardys comparison of them to broken lyres is interesting. Lyres are a) harmonious in Classical literature and b) belong only in Classical literature. Hardy is clearly stating that the scene is not harmonious or perhaps the death-lament later mentioned isnt. Or is it also a reference Hardys romantic passion for the past, that it was somehow better than the day in which he writes?Second Stanza Notes The first four lines of this stanza deal explicitly with Hardys de ad Century metaphor. He imagines the land before him as the Centurys corpse outleant. Quite what outleant means, I have no idea, (The OED has support that outleant is not, nor ever has been a word) but his crypt becomes the cloudy canopy (the cloudy sky) and the wind his death-lament. One need not explain it in any more detail the implications are quite explicit. Hardys persona clearly didnt approve of the past century, but had yet to indicate an emotional reflection on the future. He imagines England as a rotting corpse, essentially. However, note the use of the verb seems is all as it seems?However, Hardy goes on to write even more damningly of his personas scene. The ancient pulse of germ and birth the regenerative index number of life, following Winters onslaught was shrunken dry and hard. Nothing appears to be growing back is this another indication of the end of the world, or certainly of an era. Hardy appears to be making the unproblematic change of an arbitrary number into something quite different, and more serious. A degeneration of life itself. Indeed, every character upon earth/ Seemed fervourless than I. Very negative.Observe how silent the description is up to this point in the poem. There is an implied sound in both the death-lament and of broken lyres, but otherwise, the sound is non-existent. That changes soon.Here comes the VOLTA.Third Stanza NotesAt once a voice arose amongThe bleak twigs overheadIn a full-hearted evensongOf Joy illimitedHardy emphasizes a abrupt change with the words At once indeed, there are multiple changes which create this volta* Note the explosive inclusion of sound the thrush is singing This breaks the poetic still (of death) which has held the poem so far.* The length of sentence also changes. Note the semicolon at the end of these four lines above. Previously, each quatrain had completed with a full stop. Perhaps Hardy is opening up his poetic form to mirror the sudden movement in the lines themselves. The use of enjambement accentuates this.There are perhaps religious connotations with evensong. Much as Hardy may apparently be over again referring to the mundane fact that the bird is singing a song and eve, we implore that the man is capable of higher minded comparisons. These vaguely religious nuances are maintained throughout the poem.The authoritative fact is that the mood has changed, perhaps. Of Joy illimited suggests a pleasant image, which stands in stark contrast to the surrounding gloom.An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,In blast-beruffled plume,Yet the mood is suddenly plunged back into the red with Hardys following lines. The thrush, which is, admittedly, a very odd bird to chose (not famed for their song), is an elderly figure in a storm wherefore the blast-beruffled plume. In this otherwise grim situation, the readers immediate concern is whether the bird itself is dismission to survive at all The use of frail, gaunt, and small mirrors the ghoulish imagery used in the first two stanzas the thrush is alive, for certain, but perhaps the persona questions for how much longer?Note how the thrush is NOT personified. Every other element of the natural world takes an animated form, but not the bird Why does Hardy do this?Had chosen thus to fling his soulUpon the growing gloom.Perhaps desperation is the key word in this stanza, but also hope. There is a powerful message in the face of this ghoulish bird that, in spite of all the darkness and death, the thrush maintains his song.Stanza Four NotesSo little cause for carolingsOf such rapt soundWas written on terrestrial thingsAfar or nigh around,Once again, Hardys use of enjambment allows for the lines to bleed into each other in a direct contrast to the poems former rigidity. Perhaps he is now gathering momentum for a change in mood? Yet, in terms of sense, Hardy appears to be doing the opposite. He states that the bird has no reason to be singing a joyful song amongst so much desolation. H owever, perhaps, by even considering such a fact, the personas own deep-rooted pessimism is beginning to shift away?On some key language points* Note more religious emphasis carolings typically sing hymns at Christmas time. Hymns are emphatically religious* Perhaps there is an equally religious connotation which Hardy applies to his comments on the terrestrial things. If there is not any cause for singing about things on Earth, then perhaps, reciprocally, there is cause for celebrating the sky, or heaven?That I could think there trembled throughHis happy good-night airSome blessed Hope, whereof he knewAnd I was unaware.It is a rather ambiguous ending upon which Hardy chooses to conclude, but he achieves a sense of dramatic effect through it. The persona realises the presence of (a perhaps religious) hope, in the fact of utter desperation, but it is unintelligible to him. In an odd way, the reader is forced to consider whether the persona is being entirely stainless* Can one be una ware of something, yet still able to write about it?* Does this tell us that the persona, as a Modernist, is able to perceive such an uplifting messages but unable to render them in such a way as to release himself from the dark? Hardy himself was a modernist and and then dwells upon an odd lot of ideas. Amongst them was searching for hope/meaning to darkness and cruelty. Despite being a realist, he was deeply influenced by Romantic notions (look them up) perhaps this exploration is one of them?* The use of blessed again implies a deified presence within the thrushs message. Is the persona experiencing some divine inspiration?