A number of Hardy’s poems demonstrate his approving awareness—and enjoyment—of life’s potential capacity to enjoy existence in vital and extraordinary ways. Poems which feature lifeforms such as animals, birds, and insects fall upon a general scale which ranges from an appreciation of nature’s beauty, even in the face of impending death, to a richer sense of hope and contemplative pleasure. In “The Later Autumn” (1925), for instance, the natural world provides a counterbalance to the pessimism felt by Hardy’s speakers. Animals and insects further provide his speakers with the possibility of hope. In “The Darkling Thrush” (1901), creatures inspire the speaker to imagine that they possess knowledge which he does not. Here, the realisation of hope is not guaranteed, but it remains theoretically interpretable and accessible. More optimistically, other poems give Hardy’s speakers a stronger appreciation that natural creatures display something valuable. In “An August Midnight” (1901), the speaker becomes more hopefully cognisant that these vibrant creatures possess perceptions that humans lack. In discussing these poems, my analysis will highlight the influence of Hardy’s scientific and aesthetic sources, such as Charles Darwin, T. H. Huxley, George Romanes, J. G. Wood, John Ruskin, and William Burges.