Question

Which two sets of lines in this excerpt from Thomas Hardy's "The Darkling Thrush" signify hope in the midst of despair?

I leant upon a coppice gate
When Frost was spectre-gray,
[And Winter's dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky]
Like strings of broken lyres,
[And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.]

The land's sharp features seemed to be
The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind his death lament.
[The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,]
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fervourless as I.

[At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong]
Of joy illimited;
[An aged thrust, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.]

the [ ] are the answer choices plz help

Answer 1

The lines that signify hope in Thomas Hardy's 'The Darkling Thrush' are about a thrush singing a joyful song and bravely opposing the encroaching darkness.

Step-by-step explanation:

The two sets of lines from Thomas Hardy's "The Darkling Thrush" that signify hope in the midst of despair are:

• "At once a voice arose among the bleak twigs overhead In a full-hearted evensong Of joy illimited;"
• "An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small, In blast-beruffled plume, Had chosen thus to fling his soul Upon the growing gloom."

These lines introduce a singing thrush that seems to be unaffected by the bleakness that surrounds it, suggesting resilience and a form of hope that persists despite the seemingly desolate environment. The mention of 'joy illimited' and the thrush's determination to 'fling his soul' into the gloom stand out as images of optimism.

Answer 2

the first answer starts with At once a voice

the second answer starts with had chosen