"The Darkling Thrush" is a poem by Thomas Hardy that is written in the form of an ode, which is a lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often written in a lofty, elevated style. The poem is composed of four octet, or eight-line, stanzas, with an ABABCDCD rhyme scheme, and is written in iambic tetrameter, with lines one, three, five, and seven having four stressed syllables and lines two, four, six, and eight having three stressed syllables.
The poem describes a desolate world that the speaker takes as cause for despair and hopelessness. However, a bird, the "thrush," bursts onto the scene, singing a beautiful and hopeful song that is so hopeful that the speaker wonders whether the bird knows something that the speaker doesnt. The thrush is a symbol for the possible rebirth of Western civilization through religious faith, while the desolation of the scene serves as an extended metaphor for the decay of Western civilization.
Critics have praised both the subject matter and form of the poem, with some calling it one of Hardys most written-about poems. The poem has been described as sharp and clear in its images, harsh and austere in its feelings, and done in Hardys most characteristic manner. Some critics have also noted that the speaker mourns Gods death as much as the death of nature.
