How Do These Three 18th Century Poets Present Rural Life

A detailed Summary of How Do These Three 18th Century Poets Present Rural Life

The three poets and their poems, which are concerned in this essay, are:

Oliver Goldsmith V The Deserted Village;

Thomas Gray V An Elegy Written In A Church Yard;

James Thomson V The Seasons ~ Winter.

Many different styles of poetry were used during the 18th century. Much 18th century poetry is described as neoclassical (a revival of classical aesthetics and forms). This was the major style used throughout the century. Writers used particular vocabulary, phrase formations, and technical terms. This is the style which these three poets used. The poets and their respective poems each have obvious or unobvious relations to rural life and society. In the next few paragraphs I shall be outlining each of the poets' and their poems' connections to rural life and society.

Goldsmith wrote his poem The Deserted Village by drawing upon his childhood memories of the village, which he spent most of his childhood in, named Lissoy situated in County, West Meath, Ireland. This poem was written shortly after his brother, Henry, died in 1770, which caused an outburst of emotions. This poem rests on the combined effect of the juxtapositions of rural bliss & devastation and his happy & sad memories. Goldsmith uses he

roic couplets in The Deserted Village to lament loudly and passionately the social wills which was leading to the vandalism of British country village life.

Death is one of the most major aspects of rural life and society. Death is the bringer of emptiness, sorrow and abandonment; it takes away life, the creator and sustainer of society. Death "leaves the World to Darkness". Although Gray uses this phrase to describe the sun setting, it can be seen as death. The dead will be in eternal darkness six feet below the ground, confined in his/her solitary coffin. The relations of the victim are also darkened by his/her demise. Death is something of where time V past, present and future, is compressed. He expresses this very subtly by compressing the time of language, id est, instead of using modern words, at times he uses old and middle aged English words so that the poem consists of antediluvian and modern vocabulary. An example of this is "sire" (line 23) from the archaic use V meaning forefather, father (as it is in this case), master or someone who is of a higher rank. It is derived from Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin seior, from Latin senior V older, comparative of senex V old.

Even just by reading the title, it is obvious The Deserted Village has relations to rural life. Once the poem has been read, there can be no argument that it contains charming yet melancholic vignettes of rural life. He sees rural life and society as emptiness in the world; as the destroyers of the human race. Everyone in the world is all alone; there is not one person, place or thing you can totally trust. Sooner or later they will leave you, forcing you into feelings of sorrow and abandonment, as shown when he talks of a wretched matron. She is the product of the village's abandonment. That is what happened to the village of Lissoy. Goldsmith's

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Approximate Word count = 1251
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English