|
| Day 18 - Thomas Hardy  | Thomas Hardy was first a novelist, and he is celebrated as the author of Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. But his allegiance as a writer was always to poetry, and after Jude was met with a flood of negative criticism, he made it his last fiction work, and devoted the rest of his life to poetry. | | "The Darkling Thrush"
In much of Hardy’s work, life is difficult and disappointing, steeped in tragedy and despair, and this poem is set in that landscape, where “The land's sharp features seemed to be / The Century’s corpse...” Yet there is a song of hope to be heard—“a full-hearted evensong / Of joy illimited”—and we wonder whether the singing thrush who “Had chosen thus to fling his soul / Upon the growing gloom” is not Hardy himself, the poet casting his song into the brand-new and still very dark 20th century.
| Library: Poems by Hardy
| |
| | | | Missing a lesson? Click here.
About U. is our collection of free online courses designed to help you learn a new skill, solve a problem, get something done, or just learn more about your world. Sign up now, and we will email you lessons on a daily or weekly basis. | | | | You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the About.com 'A Month of Poems' email. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here.
About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy
Contact Information:
249 West 17th Street
New York, NY, 10011
© 2010 About.com | | | | | |
Advertisement
 | |
