Popular English Romantic poets like John Keats were interested in channeling nature’s aesthetic beauty into a pleasant and thought-provoking sensory experience for their readers. For the Romantics, nature represented a respite from the stresses of modern society. In this resting place, poets might become better in tune with themselves and refine their art in the scenic beauty of their surroundings. Nature was awe-inspiring, mysterious, and ever available as a source of poetic inspiration.

But for Hardy and the Modernists who followed him, nature was indifferent to humankind at best, hostile at worst. In light of contemporary scientific advancements from researchers like Charles Darwin, romanticization of the natural world seemed to fall apart under closer scrutiny. These discoveries—and the pervasive destruction of nature through the process of industrialization—signaled the withdrawal of nature as a consolation and an inspiration for poets.

While Hardy felt affinity for rural places as the site of his childhood—many of his novels are set in the countryside—his portrayal of nature is often more nuanced and pessimistic than those of his contemporaries. In “The Darkling Thrush,” the outdoors offers no comfort to the speaker. The wintry landscape is bleak and oppressive—its sharp edges make him think of corpses rather than new life.