The Ruined Maid
Summary: In this poem the speaker recgonizes an olf frind named Melia who is now a wealthy woman and has turned very beautiful. However, Melia declares that she is ruined now, but the speaker still has an ultimate desire to be just like Melia. The speaker then talks about if this is ruined then I wish to be a ruined woman. Melia then proclaims how the speaker does not have what it takes to be ruined.
Speaker: The speaker of the poem is an old maid who is in awe over Melia.
Main Idea: The main idea is that sometimes the things that you think are the best in the world are truly not what your heart desires.
Poetic Devices 1. Irony the irony in the passage is present when Melia calls herself ruined yet the speaker …show more content…

The author uses similes in the passage to compare the sky to broken instruments which helps emphasis negative atmosphere in the passage not only from the winter season, as well as the since of doom from the narrator. 5. The author uses a gloomy diction in the passage to help emphasis the negative effects of winter on the narrator which also helps set the mood of the passage.
Structure: There are 5 stanzas and Hardy uses an ABBA rhyme scheme for the poem.
Speaker attitude: The subject of the poem is the winter time and the speaker has a negative pessimistic attitude toward the winter which he exhibits through the passage by describing the winter as a corpse like figure.
Hardy’s Life: The Darkling Thrush connects to Hardy’s life because though he lived in London he despised the cold and always hoped to live in some place different. This poem helps illustrate his discontent for winter and also his hope for better experiences in the near future.
Universal Theme: One may be phased by their discontent for the present however hope for a better future always remains.
Memorable Lines:
“The lands sharp features seem’d to be the century’s corpse outleant his crypt the cloudy canopy”
“His happy good night air some blessed hope, where of he knew and I was unaware.”
“The bleak twigs overheard in a full hearted evensong of joy illimited… had chosen this to fling his soul upon the growing gloom.”
“The tangled bine-steam scared the sky like strings of