Respond in at least 5 sentences. The answer needs to be written in complete sentences. Include at least 1 quote from Thomas Hardy’s The Darkling Thrush to earn full credit and support your response. Is this a poem about the end of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth? How does this decision change your reading of the poem?
Thomas Hardy's poem, The Darkling Thrush, can be interpreted as a reflection on the transition from the nineteenth century to the twentieth. The speaker describes a desolate winter landscape, setting the scene for the end of an era: "The land's sharp features seemed to be / The Century's corpse outleant." However, the appearance of a small, lone thrush singing "blessed hope" in the midst of this bleakness suggests the possibility of renewal and hope amidst despair. This ambiguity between despair and hope at the turn of the century adds depth to the poem, allowing for multiple interpretations depending on whether one sees it as an end or a beginning. The decision to view the poem as a reflection of the end of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth can change the reader's perspective on the themes of mortality, time, and hope present in the poem, highlighting the complexities of transition and change.
