by a British author who lost his belief in a personal God
Thomas Hardy wrote many great novels of an atheistic, pessimistic bent, but he grew up in a Christian household. Like many Victorians, he wrestled with a crisis of faith. He landed on the other side believing in an impersonal, naturalist, unconscious force. That’s why this poem punches so hard in our more secular age. A poem for those who’ve lost faith — amid the gloom, hope still glimmers in the heart. “The Oxen” refers to the legend that on Christmas eve, the animals can talk, praising the miracle birth of Jesus, the Christ…
