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.