Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, presenting evidence for evolution by natural selection and challenging literal interpretations of biblical creation. Darwin argued that species change over time through variation and differential survival, without requiring divine design for each species. Though controversial, the theory gradually gained scientific acceptance and fundamentally altered humanity's understanding of its relationship to nature and other species.

Darwin's theory profoundly influenced Victorian poetry, with Tennyson grappling with 'nature red in tooth and claw' in In Memoriam before Darwin's publication but finding confirmation afterward. Evolution challenged poetry's anthropocentric assumptions, prompting verse exploring humanity's animal origins and cosmic insignificance. Hardy's pessimistic poetry reflected evolutionary indifference to human suffering. Modernist poets like Wallace Stevens engaged with evolutionary themes, while contemporary ecopoetry draws on evolutionary biology to reimagine human-nature relationships beyond romantic idealization.