The Great Depression of the Late 1800’s (An analysis of Emily Bronte’s and Thomas Hardy’s Poems

Throughout the lives of most people on the planet, there comes a time when there may be a loss of love, hope or remembrance in our lives. These troublesome times in our lives can be the hardest things we go through. Without love or hope, what is there to live for? Some see that the loss of hope and love means the end, these people being pessimistic, while others can see that even though they feel at a loss of love and hope that one day again they will feel love and have that sense of hope, these people are optimistic. These feelings that all of us had, have been around since the dawn of many. Throughout the centuries, the expression of these feelings has made their ways into literature, novels, plays, poems, and recently movies. The qualities of love, hope, and remembrance can be seen in Emily Bronte’s and Thomas Hardy’s poems of “Remembrance” “Darkling Thrush” and “Ah, Are you Digging on my Grave?”

The first text entitled, “Remembrance” by Emily Bronte mainly deals with the loss of love. When reading the poem she states that it has been, “fifteen wild Decembers” since her lover has died. (Bronte, Remembrance, page 1075, line 9) Even though it has been basically fifteen years since her lover has died she is just beginning to feel her love for him slip away. It is surprising that for these fifteen years she has remained in love with a man who is dead. However she states, “Sweet Love of youth, forgive if I forget thee,” (Bronte, Remembrance, page 1075, line 13) When this line is stated it can be said that her love for her lover began at a young age, however after fifteen years of him being dead, her memories of him, her love for him, has slipped away or is beginning to. This poem could also deal with remembrance, since those fifte...

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...r the new century to come. As it turns out, he was mainly right when just fourteen years later, the Great War erupts in Europe when Austria declares war on Serbia, Russia declares war on Austria, Germany declares war on Russia, then tries to invade France through Belgium, which is allies with England, all in all the big mess of the Great War proves that Hardy’s loss of hope was right. The final text of “Ah are you Digging in my Grave?” mainly focuses on the loss of a loved one, which no one remembers. This is the poem I can connect with the most, because I know one day I will die, hopefully not any time soon, but several decades after my death, people will most likely forget about me and who I was. This is a scary thought.

Works Cited

(Bronte, Remembrance, page 1075, line 9)

(Hardy, Darkling Thrush, page 1080, line 31)

(Hardy, Ah, Are you Digging at my Grave?)