Hope at the End of the Century

Known for such piercing works of tragedy as Tess of the D'Ubervilles and Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy has never been one for the faint of heart. This distinction remains true in his poem "The Darkling Thrush" written at the end of the 19th century. Pitting a narrator against a desolate landscape with a "beruffled" (Line 22) and singing bird, Hardy uses this juxtaposition to show that natural creatures may know of a happiness far away from suffering that humanity will never understand.

Very much in the same vein as John Keats and Bysshe Shelley, Hardy shows a narrator defined by his predilection to unhappiness who finds comfort in the song of a bird. Referring to the features of the land as "Century's corpse" (Line 10), this narrator is one whose outlook on life at the end of this particular year is not very positive. Every natural occurrence that he feels or sees serves as a reminder that time is passing and hope for the hopeless doesn't seem to be coming any time soon.

It is not until he hears the "evensong" (Line 19) of sickly looking bird that he begins to think more deeply on the nature of happiness. Describing his song as one of "joy illimited" (Line 20), the narrator feels that this bird knows of a happiness of which "[he] is unaware" (Line 24). Although the ending stanza of this poem is one that may offer a glimmer of hope for mankind, the narrator ponders how this creature can know joy in such a terrible land and time. Here, Hardy is speaking very much toward the nature of humanity during this time in the world. Filled with despair and finding joy in nothing, this narrator may enjoy the song of this bird yet will never be able to attain its carefree joviality.

This poem serves as an example to show the nature of suffering and the appreciation of nature. Like Keats and Shelley, Hardy uses a singing bird to show the way a narrator can be moved both mentally and spiritually out of a gloom ridden life. To learn the nature of this bird's happiness is something that humans could never comprehend, but the joy that it brings is something to respect, appreciate and desire.

Ephemeral Power

After having achieved the distinction of being in power and wielding control over one's own subjects, it would be difficult to imagine that the elevated political status should ever disappear. Such an idea sets the stage for the main theme of Percy Bysshe Shelley's famous sonnet "Ozymandias." Presumably having a statue erected in his honor himself, the only memory of this once powerful ruler is broken stone, sunk into the earth where "the lone and level sands stretch far away" (Line 14).

For many a dictator or ruler, power gives them the authority to live a certain type of lifestyle. Being in control of an empire of subjects has had the historical tendency to go directly to the head of the rulers who wield the control. As Shelley describes of this king Ozymandias whose only memory lies vacant in a desert, power more often than not seems to disappear after the subject who hails it has died. On the statue of this king reads, "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;//Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"  (Lines 10-11).

The casual irony with which Shelley constructs this poem cannot be lost on the audience. Here may stand the remnants of a statue that continues to embody the character of its subject, yet the "Works" (Line 11) that the king wishes its bearer to hail no longer remain. Indeed, even the comprehension of the language with which the inscription was written would be lost on the modern "traveller" (Line 1) who discovered this "shattered visage" (Line 4). While his face may remain in tact enough for a stranger to comprehend his demeanor, the actions of King Ozymandias no longer hold any weight now that his empire is lost.

Power can only last for a certain amount of time, and the tendency for these rulers to believe themselves to be immortal is the greatest irony of all. Because this poem was published just before Napoleon's death, an apt comparison can be made to this ruler who held immense power during his life, but whose influence waned almost entirely by the time of his death. Just as the land around the statue of King Ozymandias is "boundless and bare" (Line 13), so too is the haughty superiority with which many an emperor has looked down upon his subjects. Only time can know how long the ephemeral nature of influence will last, and the "sneer of cold command" (Line 5) that characterizes pompous rulers will die along with their impermanent supremacy.

The Failure of Man

To attain the freedom of the beings of nature and the endless happiness that fills their days has often been the dream of many a man and poet. Such is the case for Percy Bysshe Shelley in his famous poem "To a Skylark". Hailing this creature with the ability to live away from the restrictions and unhappiness of daily drudgery, this skylark is a being whose elevation over the souls of man knows not the sufferings that humans face every day.

Though the speaker of the poem highlights the skylark's ability to remain unhindered by ennui, sadness and having the capacity to think deeper and more beautiful thoughts, he acknowledges the fact that man will probably never be able to attain even half the joy that this striking bird must know. Shelley concludes the poem with a plead to this skylark saying, "Teach me half the gladness/That thy brain must know,/Such harmonious madness/From my lips would flow,/The world should listen then--as I am listening now" (Lines 101-105).

Even half of the joy that fills the soul of this bird would be enough for the speaker to teach the world how to live life more happily. If only humanity should connect with Nature on the level that it understands the important aspects of life could man attain the freedom of this skylark. Yet, because this is impossible, man fails to elevate itself to this higher, more natural level.

It is indescribable for this speaker to realize the liberty of this skylark, or to accomplish teaching its message to the masses. Even after comparing this bird to a "poet" (Line 36), a "high-born maiden" (Line 41), a "Glow-worm" (Line 46) and a "rose" (Line 51) in a catalog of similes, the speaker fails to accurately depict the essence of the symbol that Shelley has chosen.

Shelley describes this bird to be like a spirit from heaven, singing on high above all creation, impervious to the sadness and pain that humanity knows all too well. In his praise of this bird, the speaker of Shelley's poem comes to the conclusion that he has failed to not only describe the spirit of this bird, but has also failed to accomplish living up to its freedom. There is a reason why poets look to Nature for inspiration. The natural world can teach man how to live in harmony, beauty, and freedom from sadness and stress. Shelley explores a realistic scenario in this poem. Man may highlight nature as a teacher and as a muse, but the reality is that man will never be able to live up to what nature has to teach, or even half of what it can teach us because humanity is too wrapped up in itself and in its own suffering.