Criticism In Thomas Hardy's 'The Darkling Thrush'

Thomas Hardy’s “The Darkling Thrush” is famous for being written on New Year’s Eve, which marked the turn of the century. The very work darkling is an old word which has been used since the 15th century, while the Thrush is a type of songbird which is known for its beautiful voice. The title as a whole could be literally interpreted as a songbird whose song which is slowly fading over time but will not be forgotten. A deeper interpretation could be the fact that Hardy is perhaps looking back on the past century’s poetic works and recognizing its beauty while, at the same time, realizing the turn of the century means that society as a whole has to move onwards towards a new type of poetry. By analyzing, Thomas Hardy’s “The Darkling Thrush”, one can tell that the effect that this poem has on reader is that of encouraging society as a whole to move forward while still remembering the past. He accomplishes this through vivid imagery and emphasizing the prevalence of the title throughout the poem.
Hardy’s word choice in “The Darkling Thrush” is very specific to create a specific mood of uneasiness. The first two lines of the poem introduce a very dreary and desolate …show more content…
Since Hardy capitalizes the word century, it can be interpreted that Hardy wished to place the same amount of importance on the end of a century as he does on winter and frost. In doing so, the reader feels the significance and link between the passing of a century, winter, and frost. The entirety of stanza two fixates on the passing of a century by personifying the idea of a century. For example, the speaker refers to the “The wind his death-lament” (12). In doing so, the reader feels a sense of sadness for the past century and all it had to offer. Specifically, under a poetic lens, the reader could read stanza two as the past century reflecting on its poetic works and mourning the death of