Hardy's best known bird poem was written on December 31, 1900, but its acknowledgment of defiant hope, or even optimism, still holds good.

Thomas Hardy was a man of intensity and his poems are a reflection of that vehement personality. The poem, The Darkling Thrush, is an honest example of his classic style. Through the bleakness of the landscape, the narrator muses over the problems of mortal life on the eve of the century’s finale. In this poem, we can observe the poet’s preoccupation with time, change, and remorse. The poem was first published in The Graphic, on 29 December 1900 and was originally titled, “The Century’s End 1900”. The poem unfurls on a closure and is a dark yet hopeful meditation on how death precludes birth and the cycle is never broken. It is also a haunting scrutiny of Victorian society and its intellectual progress contrasted by its socio-cultural failings. The poet experimented with meter and stanza forms producing a huge variety of verse. He also used colloquial language in his literary works, which was partly inspired by fellow Dorset poet William Barnes.