On The Irrationalistic Humanism In The Poems Of Hardy

The England through the turn of the 19^th century and the 20^th century, theage which Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) lived in, witnessed drastic changes, both social and philosophical: the traditional agricultural civilization and ethic were ruined by industrialism; the belief in God collapsed in the presence of subversive science knowledge, especially Darwin's evolutionary theory; and the rationalistic gave way to newly-emerging irrationalism. Man was confronted with unprecedented mental and physical crises in this empty and chaotic society and a "deeply unpoetic" age (Matthew Arnold). Hardy, a poet of sincere humanity conscience, observed all these changes and human's plight poignantly, and represented them, together with his tentative philosophical mode of vision, in his poems meticulously.The first glance upon Hardy's poetry is easy to lead to such a conclusion that those poems are full of inconsistent impressions and suffused with strong melancholy ambience in view of the bleak scenes and somber mood. It is true that Hardy was haunted with somewhat low spirit due to the universal miseries, and owed the numerous desolate images, like whitened sun, fallen leaves, and tragic occurrences he had ever undergone or been informed of in the countryside and rich personal experiences. Yet it was these intimate images and common occurrences that showed Hardy's full look into the "Worst" caused by the predatory development of industrialism and international slaughter, reflected his constant pursuit for the values of life and meanings of the universe out of his pity and compassion. On the other hand, the science advances undermined the theological dogmas, to which Hardy and most of the westerners dedicated their loyalty since young, but failed to provide any other "Savor" of the same significance. And the "Reason", whose omnipotence had been worshipped generally,...