The Darkling Thrush

how it “sings with fearful trill of things unknown and longed for still... for the caged bird sings of freedom”.

Tone, there are several tones that could have been used in these poems, however, Hardy chose a more humorous tone and Yeats chose a menacing one. Almost completely opposite, most people would think these poems had nothing to do with each other, however, their central message, World War 1, are the same. Notice how Hardy says, ““Ha, ha. It will be warmer when / I blow the trumpet (if indeed / I ever do; for you are men, / And rest eternal sorely need)”(Hardy). Hardy laughs, giving his poem a humorous tone, while Yeats poem has a more ominous tone. Yeats uses words that give off negative connotations, such as “blood-dimmed”(Yeats), “darkness”(Yeats), “slouches”(Yeats), and “troubles”(Yeats). It is obvious to see that these words are not used in a jokey tone, but rather a more sinister

The theme of Sympathy is the oppressive treatment of both the narrator and the bird, and the imprisonment of the bird and how the narrator sympathizes with it. This is shown through the diction choices which create dark images of mistreatment and sorrow, and imagery that is strengthened in repetition. An example of diction that supports the theme is “...its blood is red on the cruel bars;” this choice of words gives image of a dark, dirty cage with a wounded beaten bird and its cage that is blood red from his wounds; this image is very oppressive and gives characteristics of the prisonization of the bird. The next example of the poem’s theme is shown by imagery and repetition, which come together convey strong flashing images of the imprisonment of the bird and its oppressive feeling. “When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, -- When he beats his bars and he would be free;”, this quote gives imagery to the reader to see a bruised, tired, and dirty bird beating against his cage for freedom. The repetition of the word “when” in the quote gives off the effect to the reader of flashing images one after the other. While the use of the words “bars”, “bruised”, “sore”, and “he beats”, give off the specific imagery characteristic of oppression to the reader’s developing images.

The poet orders his listener to behold a “solitary Highland lass” reaping and singing by herself in a field. He says that anyone passing by should either stop here, or “gently pass” so as not to disturb her. As she “cuts and binds the grain” she “sings a melancholy strain,” and the valley overflows with the beautiful, sad sound. The speaker says that the sound is more welcome than any chant of the nightingale to weary travelers in the desert, and that the cuckoo-bird in spring never sang with a voice so thrilling. Impatient, the poet asks, “Will no one tell me what she sings?” He speculates that her song might be about “old, unhappy, far-off things, / And battles long ago,” or that it might be humbler, a simple song about “matter of today.” Whatever she sings about, he says, he listened “motionless and still,” and as he traveled up the

Thus, through the initial impression of the man of the bird’s brave and challenging movements by the utilisation of poetic techniques, the reader is able to visualise the bird’s characteristic it inherits and gain a deeper understanding of nature and the impression of humanity distinctively.

The Structure, style and poetic techniques of a poem contribute greatly to the development of the central idea of a poem. Three poems with central ideas that stood out to me were ‘The Darkling Thrush’ by Thomas Hardy, ‘Days’ by Philip Larkin, and ‘Remembrance’ by Emily Brontë. The central idea of each of these poems revolve around the idea of time and change. Firstly, I will discuss how in ‘The Darkling Thrush’ the simple and traditional structure, the bleak yet straightforward style and techniques such as vivid imagery and capitalisation combine to develop the central idea of change. The same can be said for the simple structure and style used in ‘Days’ which combine with poetic techniques such as metaphors to develop Larkin’s argument against time and change. Finally I will discuss how the idea of time is developed through techniques such as vivid imagery and symbolism in ‘Remembrance’ along with changing styles and a slow, consistent rhythm.

Nevertheless, in the poem ‘Nesting time’, Stewart interprets a personal experience in first person of the appearance of a bird that lands upon his daughter and forgets the thought of the harsh world. Stewart’s descriptive language repeatedly explains the poem as if seen in his viewpoint, beginning with an interjection, ‘oh’ communicating of his incredulity of an ‘absurd’ bird. Symbolizing the bird with strong coloured imagery its ‘mossy green, sunlit’, described to be bright and joyful, with sweetness shown with the type of bird, ‘honey-eater’, Douglas Stewart takes the time to describe its admiration juxtaposed to the dangerous world surrounding it. While visualizing the birds actions, ‘pick-pick-pick’ of alliteration and repetition of its

This is true to a certain extent, Hardy tends to create a pessimistic outlook however sometimes his poems can show a bittersweet look at situations. ‘At Castle Boterel’, for example, Hardy writes ‘I look back at it amid the rain/ For the very last time; for my sand is sinking.’ When Hardy writes that ‘[his] sand is sinking,’ it points towards the idea that his time is running out, which gies strong imagery to the reader. Although this shows a pessimistic tone, when reading it, it can be understood that he has fond memories of the times he has spent there. Hardy makes this clear to the reader when it reads, ‘was there ever a time of such quality’.

“But a caged bird stands on a grave of dreams... His wings are clipped and his feet are tied/so he opens his throat to sing…” (M.A 26-29). This quote describes the birds emotions as it loses its dreams, it doesn't lose its hope so it repeatedly sings hoping it will reach a bird for assistance. It also portrays a very positive them as the reader figures out that its perseverance pays off. “...and his tune is heard/on the distant hill…”(M.A 19-20). This is validating the fact that the bird’s prayers have successfully been retrieved and help is nearer than it has been thought.

In the second stanza, I see that the speaker wonders about what his horse is “thinking” which shows his interests are also in the outside world too, like his horse. He also takes certain pleasure seeing the scene from what he imagines to be his horse’s perspective. I think his horse is practical in nature, he thinks, while the speaker sits there dreaming, watching the snow fill up the woods. He just stands there dreaming, and thinking about his horse's feelings is the one thing that brings him back to reality. Death comes again in the typical image of night, as we’re told this is the “darkest evening of the year.” Also, it can either be taken literally as the most lightless night, or it can be taken as the night of the darkest emotions. I think that it is a combination of the two, a dark moonless winter night in which the speaker experiences some form of depression or loneliness.

The poem “That Winter,” is the seasonal poem describing the environment has changed by using imagery. It’s impressive for describing the poem with imagery. From lines 1 to 6 on “That Winter” poem:

In his poem “Evening Hawk”, Robert Penn Warren describes the ominous flight of the hawk through the eyes of a human narrator who admires the hawk to reveal the power of nature over the human race as the world comes to an end warning them to correct the error of their ways before it is too late. He conveys this using juxtaposition of movements of the and the description of the setting, the ironic viewpoint of the narrator,

The poem is about the vulnerability, innermost torment and the suppression of an emotional and fragile personality symbolized through the image of a Bluebird hidden inside the speakers mind.

At the bird’s appearance and apparent vocal articulation, he is at first impressed, then saddened. He compares this evening visitor as only another friend which will soon depart, just as “other friends have flown before” (58). But the raven again echoes quite aptly his one-word vocabulary, thus leading the man on to think more deeply about the possibilities that exist at this juncture. Somewhere deep inside him, he has realized that it doesn’t matter what question he poses, the bird will respond the same.

The mood of “Caged Bird” changes drastically from stanza to stanza. Angelou’s specific diction choices help to reflect the change from being positive to negative with some elements of hope involved. The parts of the poem involving the free bird provide the reader with a feeling of self government.In contrast, the mood associated with the caged bird is confinment. Despite the negative mood tied to the caged bird there are still elements of hope woven into these stanzas.