An Embodiment Of Pessimism As An Affirmative Force:a Thematic Study Of Thomas Hardy’s Poems

Pessimism is a significant feature in both Hardy’s novels and poems and many critics hold that Hardy’s attitude towards life is quite pessimistic and some even label him a "pessimist". However, Hardy himself has ever defended against the charge of "pessimism", declaring that he is an "evolutionary meliorist" who believes that the world can be improved through human endeavor. Although the tone and scene are quite pessimistic and gloomy in some of Hardy’s poems, under the literal meanings are Hardy’s complex thought and philosophy towards life. As a modern poet, it seems that Hardy is inclined to employ the pessimism elements to reflect the evils and dark side of life and society, which can arouse people’s attention and introspection and enable man to make some improvement to better the world. As for his attitude towards pessimism and his literary thought, he has ever mentioned it in his autobiography to make a defense for himself as there are many critics who misunderstand his real intention in poetry composition. Thus, based on the previous studies on Hardy’s pessimism, the thesis examines systematically the pessimism as an affirmative force and art form in his poems by employing the historical, biographical and textual close reading approaches.The main body of this study can be divided into three parts and the main content of each part is as follows: The first part mainly focuses on the formation of Hardy’s "affirmative pessimism" which is influenced by various factors including the great changes in the transitional age and his personal experiences. In the late Victorian era, there are two controversial forces:pessimism versus optimism, which exert great influence on Hardy’s thought and literary composition. Apparently, the pessimistic color in Hardy’s poems may impress readers that Hardy is a pessimist. However, the pessimism elements employed by Hardy convey an affirmative message that people should face the disasters and difficulties in life bravely and take some measures to better the world.The second part is mainly involved in thematic studies on the affirmative force in Hardy’s poems, especially the seemingly pessimistic poems. This part demonstrates this kind of affirmative force from three aspects:the affirmative force in time, religion and nature. Time in Hardy’s poems is not just a destroyer, an evil force that bring suffering to man. Meanwhile, it is also a preserver which saves the enjoyable moment in form of memory. What is more. Time possesses quality of eternity, which can make something transcend the past and present and surpass the future. As for religion, even though Hardy has ever gone through religious crisis and questioned God, there are still some affirmative forces illustrated in his poems. He has never ceded to pursue the affirmative forces in religion which can bring comfort and light to the modern people who are in lack of faith. Nature in Hardy’s poems plays various roles. Sometimes Hardy’s nature is quite similar with Wordsworth’s which can bring solace and comfort to man. However, as a modern poet, sometimes nature seems to be quite indifferent to man. In some poems, there are some dismal images and description about the environment and natural world and the tone is quite gloomy and pessimistic. However, even in this kind of poems, there are still some affirmative force which can bring hope to man.The third part is mainly concerned with the essence of Hardy’s pessimism. This argument is closely related with Hardy’s view towards "pessimism" and his literary thought which are reflected in his poems and autobiography. In fact. Hardy’s attitude towards life is not pessimistic as is labeled by some critics. For him, pessimism does not mean a placid acceptance of the ills of life, instead it is a kind of revolt against the evils and cruelty of life and its final purpose is to better the world after a full examination of the worst. As a modern poet, the melancholy tone and gloomy description in Hardy’s poems are a modern way to mirror the evils and dark side of the world. Only in this way can man realize their flaws and social evils. Actually, Hardy is a humanist and evolutionary meliorist, who is trying to explore the light of hope for future.After consulting some previous studies on Hardy’s pessimism and a thorough examination of Hardy’s autobiography and poems, a conclusion is drawn at the end of the thesis that Hardy’s pessimism is an artistic skill employed to reveal social illness and evils in human being, which can pass some affirmative force to the reader. Hardy is not a pessimist labeled by some critics. Instead, he has never ceded to explore the hopeful light and finally forms his own philosophy towards the world, namely the "evolutionary meliorism" in his own words.