Darkling thrush + Ruined maid. discuss the poetic methods Hardy uses to evoke distinctive settings in his poetry

We can also tell that “The Darkling Thrush” is written at the end of the century which is suggested in the second stanza of this poem. Hardy uses an extended metaphor which compares the century to a dead body, the clouds the crypt and the wind it’s death lament – “The Century’s corpse outleant, His crypt the cloudy canopy, The wind his death-lament”. By comparing the “Century” to a “corpse” Hardy explains that it’s the end of the century as it is dead. The effect is effective due to Hardy’s use of funereal imagery:”corpse”, “crypt” and “death-lament”. Here, Hardy is also suggesting that man’s activities have killed the nature. He believes that rather than using up the nature, it’s better to learn from nature. Hardy’s use of figurative language and evocative diction, no doubt are effective in suggesting a distinctive place and time in “The Darkling Thrush”

Hardy used the word “ruined” as a euphemism for disgraced sexually. Similar to “The Darkling Thrush”, Hardy also introduces the setting of “The Ruined Maid” in the first stanza: “Who could have supposed I should meet you in Town?” This suggests that the conversation is going on in the town. Through the conversation also, we recognize that there are two characters in the poem: Amelia and her friend. We can sense that the friend is impressed by the way Amelia has changed. Although she is envious of Amelia, she is also being judgmental. This is supported by the word “bewitched” in stanza four. It is as if she is asking if there is a more sinister side to Amelia. Once again, Hardy’s diction choice is very effective here. From there, we also know that Amelia is ‘beyond pale’: an outcast. Other than that, we know that being ruined, Amelia receives the advantages in materials. She wears “fair garments” and “gay bracelets”. Their appearance and the way the two women speak shows two different social class.

Hardy, in “The Ruined Maid” is also ironically criticizing the society other than a woman who had transgressed against the moral code. Automatically we know that at that time it is still in the Victorian Era. Men control work and property. Women were also not permitted the same kind of sexual freedom as Victorian men. This poem is satiric as Hardy shows how silly the society is at that time. A woman who was disgraced sexually was an outcast but not the man who disgraced them. I fact, those men throw their money happily for the woman. How ironic is that? Also, women like Amelia’s friend, have to work hard labour to live because in that patriarchal world, women don’t have the control over work and property – they are regarded just like a machine to produce babies. Hardy is suggesting that neither being “ruined” nor have to work hard labour is a good choice. This is because ‘virginity’ is what makes a woman a ‘lady’, however, what’s the use of being a lady when in this cruel world women have to suffer?

In both poems: “The Darkling thrush” and “The ruined Maid” Hardy has used Figurative language, rhetorical devices and evocative diction to evoke a distinctive place, time and social. In “The Darkling Thrush” he described how nature has died due to human which makes the world seem lifeless to him. However being a human, he himself doesn’t know if there is hope for a better future. While in “The Ruined Maid”, Hardy ironically makes “ruined” into something positive and this is an effect due to the patriarchal Victorian Era which forced women to work hard labour which will never makes them rich. It also shows clearly the difference between the rural and urban – two different social life. Overall, Hardy managed to suggest distinctive settings in both poems effectively.