A wood thrush is a bird common in the Northeastern part of the United States; it is known for its "loud clear song." In the poem, Eliot refers to hearing the wood thrush "singing through the fog". He mentions this in the opening of the poem, and again at the closing of the poem.
The mentioning of the woodthrush can serve several purposes. One is to set the scene, to use imagery (the 5 senses) to create a mood and help the reader to feel like they are right there, where the poet is describing. The entire opening and closing stanzas set the scene through sights and sounds ("What seas what shores what grey rocks and what islands/ What water lapping the bow /And scent of pin"), and he puts the woodthrush in the fog in there too. Now the reader can feel like they are actually there, in body. ...
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It also sets a mood; he's in a boat, it is foggy, and you can hear the singing of a bird somewhere close by.
The second purpose in mentioning the woodthrush is for structure and closure. He opens and closes with a repeated mentioning of it; this helps "sandwich" the poem, and gives it a nice, tidy, closure, almost like the beginning and ending of a story.
A third reason for the mentioning of the wood thrush is symbolism. It is known for its loud and clear song. Note that Eliot put it in a fog; a fog is confusing and disorienting, but the woodthrush's song was heard clearly through it, piercing through the fog. This could symbolize the clarity that Eliot is having at that moment, in regards to death. The entire poem discusses death and its impact. It discusses his confusion and lack of clarity in the past and how he wants to "resign my life for this life". So, as he sits there, in that spot and time, in that fog, he has a moment of clear, calm thinking where his eyes are opened, and that could be symbolized by the thrush's song through the murky fog.
I hope that helps a bit! Good luck!
Comment on the "wood thrush" image in T.S. Eliot's "Marina."
The wood thrush in T.S. Eliot's "Marina" shows up in two places in the poem; the beginning and the end. The poem is about the life of a seaman and the fact that wherever he goes, there are similarities in the landscapes. He's been at it so long that all of the places he visits, all of the "marinas" in which he docks, look the same. This is illustrated by his complete and utter knowledge of his boat as described here:
Bowsprit cracked with ice and paint cracked with heat.
I made this, I have forgotten
And remember.
The rigging weak and the canvas rotten
Between one June and another September.
Made this unknowing, half conscious, unknown, my own.
The garboard strake leaks, the seams need caulking.
The boat looks the same to him because he's been on it for so long. In the same way, the marinas he visits look the same because he is used to them and he can't tell them apart anymore. The "woodthrush" (a bird that flies around at the marinas) illustrate the "sameness" of his journeys and his ports. Wherever he goes, there's a woodthrush to greet him. Here are the two stanzas:
Beginning:
What seas what shores what grey rocks and what islands
What water lapping the bow
And scent of pine and the woodthrush singing through the fog
End:
What seas what shores what granite islands towards my timbers And woodthrush calling through the fog
Though he's in a different marina in each stanza, he sees the same images of fog, rock and woodthrush.