Desperate Faith: A Study of Selected Poems by Thomas Hardy

Abstract

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is considered by literary historians to be the most important late Victorian / early Edwardian poet. This paper stems from the hypothesis that even desperate men like Hardy can not avoid the influence of religion on their personal thought and literary career. Hence the purpose of this paper is to present a new reading of some of Hardy’s poetry in regard to faith and religion. It also offers some speculation about the nature of Hardy’s own personal religious ideology. The Victorian belief in Christian dogma is based on certain principles; Hardy’s interpretation of these principles determines his own philosophy of life. These principles are so important to the extent that they assert the profound pessimism which underlines Hardy’s own philosophy. Therefore, this paper discusses Hardy’s treatment of faith as reflected in some of his famous and notable poems. The research focuses on some Christian elements which form a considerable part of Hardy’s poetical works. The aim behind this investigation is to prove a point that, in the poetry of Thomas Hardy, there is an inevitable allusion to faith but that faith sounds desperate. Thus, it is not the lack of faith that contaminates Hardy’s poetry; it is rather, the dominance of desperate faith.