The darkling thrush meaning. The Darkling Thrush Summary 2022-11-02

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The Darkling Thrush is a poem written by Thomas Hardy in 1900, near the end of the Victorian era. The poem reflects on the approach of the new year and the change it brings, as well as the speaker's own feelings of despair and longing for the past. The title of the poem refers to a thrush, a type of bird, singing on a "desolate shore" as the sun sets on the old year.

The speaker of the poem is standing on the edge of a field, observing the thrush as it sings its "eldritch" song. The word "eldritch" suggests that the song is otherworldly or strange, perhaps reflecting the speaker's own sense of alienation and disconnection from the world around them. The speaker describes the thrush as "frail" and "gaunt," suggesting that it is weak and emaciated, possibly symbolizing the speaker's own feelings of fragility and vulnerability.

Despite the bleakness of the setting and the speaker's own despair, the thrush's song brings a sense of hope and renewal. The speaker describes the song as "full-hearted" and "clear," suggesting that it is strong and unwavering despite the difficult circumstances. The thrush's song also represents a connection to the past, as the speaker reflects on the "age-old song" that the thrush sings.

The poem's theme of change and renewal is further emphasized through the imagery of the setting and the speaker's reflection on the passing of time. The sun is setting on the old year and the speaker is standing on the edge of a field, suggesting that they are at a threshold, on the cusp of a new beginning. The speaker also reflects on the "death-mark" that the year has left on the landscape, suggesting that the passing of time brings both change and loss.

Overall, The Darkling Thrush is a poignant reflection on the passage of time and the human experience of change. The thrush's song serves as a beacon of hope and renewal in the face of despair and the passing of the old year. It also serves as a reminder of the enduring power of art and the human spirit to find meaning and solace in difficult times.

The Darkling Thrush MCQs

the darkling thrush meaning

The strange sound seems to announce that hope and health is returning. So, what if it is a bird that has made the discovery, which the narrator fails to see even though he is a human being. By then he was 60, and the old age was beginning to bite him. Amidst this deafening silence and graveyard-like doom and despondency, the speaker hears a strange loud sound emanating from the background of the dry lifeless twigs and stems of the nearby tree. His father worked as a stone mason.


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Questions Answers from The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy

the darkling thrush meaning

The ancient pulse of germ and birth Was shrunken hard and dry, And every spirit upon earth Seemed fervourless as I. What are the metaphors used by the poet in The Darkling thrush to convey his desolation? Hardy was strikingly depressed throughout the poem and confused too as to why the thrush was singing so zestfully, as he cannot find any reason for the thrush to sing so joyously. The narrator is wondering why the bird was doing this when the world already seems to have fallen but he cannot, of course, talk to a bird, so he let goes the enquiry. Eckleburg are a pair of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. The Poem Title — The Darkling Thrush The title of a poem speaks volumes about it because, through it, the poem must convey the mood and tone of the poem in a very precise and economic way. Orel, Harold, The Final Years of Thomas Hardy: 1912— 1928, Macmillan, 1976.

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The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy: Meanings and Solutions

the darkling thrush meaning

Suddenly, the joyful voice of the little thrush is a reminder of the fact that death is not the end. It is important to notice that in this poem Hardy offers a little bit of hope, expressed in the joyous song of the bird. Despite the narrator's pessimistic attitude, he is appreciative to know that something in the natural world can still find joy in life. In the first stanza, metaphor is used to depict the end of the year. The poet was sad because he felt that the New Year would bring in nothing to be happy about.

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The Darkling Thrush Summary & Analysis

the darkling thrush meaning

Thrush is a little bird and there is no hope for it. It is gloomy and dreary. Gibson, James, and Trevor Johnson, eds. He was seeing enough of that in real life. This stanza portrays the sole impression of death, no vigour, and nothing to look forward to.

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What type of poem is The Darkling Thrush?

the darkling thrush meaning

The growing gloom is checked by that spirited song. Hardy loved his country too much to wish its demise. Answer "The Darkling Thrush" is a nature poem and its subject is the titular bird. They may represent God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland, though the novel never makes this point explicitly. So, he felt the vice-like grip of desolation and despair. The themes of loneliness and isolation abound in the poem- The Darkling Thrush. The central idea of the poem is hope.

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The Darkling Thrush: Poem, Summary & Analysis

the darkling thrush meaning

So, as you can see, the Winter and the Frost are bleak company — they cannot arouse any sense of cheerfulness. It demonstrates the attitude of the depressed narrator as he is not looking forward to a bright future rather the only thing he knows will happen for sure is death. Winter in the Northern Hemisphere is also the end of the year. The poet's word choice creates an atmosphere of separation from the rest of the world i. Piles of white snow and no sight of life are bound to send the spirit of the most diehard optimist to a tail spin.

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The Darkling Thrush Summary

the darkling thrush meaning

Within all these depressing surroundings Hardy, the depressed narrator, is astonished to hear "a voice arose among the bleak twigs overhead" in the third stanza. Probably giving way to his guarded optimism about what the new age would bring, Hardy renamed the piece to the more cheery title as we know today — The Darkling Thrush. The metaphor tells the reader that the day is coming to an end so the sun is setting. Nothing can deter him from his belief in the possibility of dreams and romance. .

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Thomas Hardy: Poems Quizzes

the darkling thrush meaning

In 1899, the British High Commissioner of Cape Colony in South Africa, Alfred Milner, schemed to gain power of the gold mines in the Dutch Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, precipitating a war with the Boers. The formal strictness of the verse is a bulwark against disorder. He had a feeling that England could still rise again. Even people seem listless and haunting, instead of living their lives. The second date is today's date — the date you are citing the material. Advertisements The tangled bine-stems scored the sky Like strings of broken lyres, And all mankind that haunted nigh Had sought their household fires Climbing plants, dead for winter, have left behind only their climbing stems or bine stems. Or does he sing a song of hope — a reassurance of good things that are to come? As soon as the song begins, the surrounding begins to shed off all its gloom scattered around—the ghostly and grey frost started getting lighter, the depressing winter landscape, which made the sun set lonely and abandoned, faded, the speaker leaned on a gate before a thicket of small trees, twining plants rising high, were silhouetted against the sky like the strings of broken lyres, all these were trying to lighten their gloomy moods.

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The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy

the darkling thrush meaning

What was the theme of the poem? Add the winter landscape to this, and things get more dismal. The bird is old with ruffled feathers so logically no reason to celebrate yet sings a happy song. Finally, "Had chosen thus to fling his soul" brings the comparison of the bird's song to a soul. Amidst all sadness and futility, the darkling thrush sings a song, showing hope can be found even in the most desolate times. The spectre-grey, desolateness, simile of broken strings of lyre, the trees without leaves bring despair and hopelessness in mind and things appear bleak and lifeless.

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What does the word ‘darkling’ mean in the poem "The Darkling Thrush"? What connection does the adjective ‘darkling’ have with the thrush?

the darkling thrush meaning

There is life beyond death. Answer 'The Darkling Thrush' was published by the end of the nineteenth century and time has a great significance with regards to the background of the poem. The Return of the Native was produced for English television in 1994, directed by Jack Gold and starring Academy Award-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. There is nothing in the environment to cheer the poet up. The second is the date of publication online or last modification online.

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