Thomas Hardy: Poems Essay Questions

Analyze one of the similes or metaphors in “The Darkling Thrush.” How does it contribute to the overall themes of the poem?

In the first stanza of “The Darkling Thrush,” Thomas Hardy uses metaphor to compare “the tangled bine-stems” above the speaker’s head to “strings of broken lyres” (5-6). Many of Hardy’s poems center vivid descriptions of the natural world, and “The Darkling Thrush” is no exception. Here, simile efficiently depicts the appearance of the twisted stems, and the comparison to harp strings suggests that these plants were thin and malnourished. This particular image is of special importance because the speaker is looking up at the sun through the stems. “The Darkling Thrush” hinges upon the speaker’s pessimistic perception of the landscape, and the “bine-stems” embody the dark lens through which the speaker perceives the world. At the same time, Hardy’s choice of “broken lyres” is particularly significant not just because of the vivid image it denotes, but because of its classical connotations. By invoking the lyre, the archetypal instrument of the Greco-Roman bard, Hardy suggests that this classical past is part of the lens through which his poetry sees the world, but that that tradition has been broken.

Discuss one of the allusions in “The Darkling Thrush.” What is its significance?

Hardy’s use of the word “darkling” in the title of “The Darkling Thrush” solidifies the poem’s connection to John Keats's Ode to a Nightingale, which both describes a similar event, and uses the same antiquated term. In Ode to a Nightingale, the bird’s beautiful call suggests to the speaker the existence of a sublime natural world into which he could retreat from the harshness of his life. In contrast, Hardy’s thrush is part of the troubled world which the speaker struggles with. Although its song suggests a mysterious hope, it doesn’t refer back to any physical place of refuge. Instead, Hardy depicts the natural world as dying along with human history.

To what extent does “Afterwards” present an optimistic view of death? Explain using examples from the text.

The themes of “Afterwards” suggest a fairly dark poem, one written from the gloomy vantage point of a poet anticipating his own death in verse. Throughout the poem, Hardy suggests that life is indeed fleeting and difficult. In the first stanza, he refers to his own “tremulous stay,” suggesting a fragile life full of anxiety and trembling. The third stanza reiterates this sense of weakness by specifying that the speaker, so dutiful and caring, was nevertheless unable to do much to protect anyone, least of all himself. However, the poem ultimately suggests that life, even a “tremulous” one, can be meaningful through careful observation of the world. By reiterating the speaker’s ability to “notice…things,” the poem suggests that one’s life can be inherently meaningful without having a lasting, tangible impact on the world.

Discuss the fourth stanza of “The Voice.” To what extent does it change the meaning of the poem developed in the first three stanzas?

In the fourth stanza of “The Voice,” the speaker abruptly plummets back into the world. In the first three stanzas, he has existed as an observer, listening to the sound of the wind and remembering his dead wife. With “Thus I; faltering forward,” the speaker is suddenly forced to acknowledge his own existence. The emphasis on the first person here suggests that the speaker has come to terms with his own loneliness. Although subtle, this shift changes the thrust of the poem by situating it firmly within a bleak autumnal present. The speaker cannot merely reside in the shadowy realm of memories in which he imagines the voice of his lost lover. Nevertheless, the final line of “The Voice” suggests that even when the speaker acknowledges his own present, he is still haunted by the voices of the past.