Hello everyone! Hope this blog post finds you well today 🙂

I decided to talk about the Victorian Era poem The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy in my blog post this week. I have always been a big fan of poetry ever since I was little, so I figured I could focus on something I can enjoy, and tie it into the unit we are learning about.  Luckily for me, all of the poetry resources I need are available on our class Moodle page!

To begin my post, I know this sounds very basic of me to say, it may even sound stupid, but I enjoyed how it rhymed. I find poems that do not rhyme to be bland, and not as enjoyable to read as ones that do rhyme. Like I said, it probably sounds stupid, but that is just the way I like my poetry to be. So, that was a plus that came with this poem I guess.

This poem begins by describing a gloomy scenery ahead. It is gray outside and quite depressing (sounds kind of familiar with this weather we have been having lately huh?). Due to this scenery, our speaker is feeling as if everything around him is on the train to death and decay, and it is moving pretty fast. There is no sign of life anywhere around him, until he hears the sound of a bird chirping! The bird itself does not seem to be in the best shape, possibly beaten down by the weather, but it still continues to chirp on. It keeps on chirping and singing its song. The speaker wonders how this bird could quite possibly still be chirping and singing in a condition like that, and in that kind of environment. He does not try to look into it though, he just keeps moving himself. Not only does the speaker question this bird and its actions, but he also appreciates it for keeping happy and chugging along. He is also happy to know that something out in this deathly looking world around him has a reason to live.

The message I got from this poem is: Why let the world around you bring you down when you can bring yourself up? The bird is in a crappy environment, and is not in the best shape himself, but he is still pushing along and chirping. He is not letting his condition, or the things around him bring him down at all! I am not sure if that is the message that Thomas Hardy was trying to convey, but art is all about perception, you feel me? I felt like this was important to mention specifically because of the bird’s actions, and his condition. That has to be a symbol for positivity! How could it not be?

I also felt like it was important to mention that given the times we are in now. Everything is uncertain, and does not seem to be going well for many. News reports are constantly negative, and talking about the same thing. There are people spreading positivity that are pushing through, and we all should join them.

Thank you all for reading, and as I said at the beginning, I hope you all are well! Times like these are crazy and I wish you all the best during it. Try to keep chugging along like the bird did!