Pastoralism in 18th Century Poetry
The pastoral is a poetic genre popularized in the 18th century that idealizes the peaceful and simple countryside lifestyle. Pastoral poems are ordinarily written about those who live close to nature, namely shepherds and farmers. These poems about rustic tranquillity often relate a life in which humans lived contentedly off the earth. The pastoral poem often looks to nature and the simple life as a retreat from the complications of a society in which humans have become degenerate. Two poems from this era which we have studied, The Thresher’s Labour, by Stephen Duck, and An Elegy Wrote in a Country Churchyard, by Thomas Gray, fit well into this category of literature.
The first poem, The Thresher’s Labor, gives a first-hand account of the hard life of a farm worker. Lexico LLC’s Online Dictionary defines the verb “thresh” as: “To beat the stems and husks of grain or cereal plants with a machine or flail to separate the grains or seeds from the straw” (Lexico LLC, 2001). In the course of the poem, the author tells the story of his life working on his master’s farm threshing crops. The author does not seem to enjoy his work, but rather accepts its grueling repetitiveness as a way of life. The boss expects hard work from his threshers; he says to them, “Get all things ready, and be quickly drest; Early next Morn I shall disturb your Rest. Strict to his Word! For scarce the Dawn appea...
As the world progresses, attitudes and values constantly change, like the wind. Flowing through the depths of our inner morality and beliefs. Welcome back to another episode of Poetry Aloud, where I talk about poetry… aloud. Today I will be discussing how Victorian poets are able to illustrate this changeable nature of attitudes and values within their world through highlighting our most prevalent desires that unlock the true beast of humanity, thus exploring humanity’s transforming perspectives as society progresses. Letitia (La tee sha) Elizabeth Landon’s The Marriage Vow highlights
lust. To his Coy Mistress is a pure lust one even though in parts may
The pastoral settings in Shakespeare's As You Like It, John Milton's "L'Allegro," and his "Il Penseroso" provide an escape from an urban environment. Although Shakespeare's Duke Senior and his followers physically move into a forest, they still tend to impose their urban system upon the wilderness. In "L'Allegro," Milton presents an idyllic countryside where all adversity has been safely domesticated. In "Il Penseroso," the speaker makes no attempt to change the landscape of Melancholy, but rather embraces it for its solitude and silence. All of these scenes contrast sharply with a materialistic civilization.
"Two windmills", a simple poem by Geoffrey Dutton, which records the poet's memory, of living on a sheep ranch is his childhood. In depth he paints a vivid picture in the reader’s mind of the conditions in the Australian outback. This is portrayed through the use of visual and aural imagery.
Comparing The Passionate Shepherd to His Love and Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd. and the stark contrast of the treatment of an identical theme, that of love within the framework of pastoral life. I intend to look at each poem separately to give my interpretation of the poet's intentions and then discuss their techniques and how the chosen techniques affect the portal of an identical theme. The poem The Passionate Shepherd to His Love appears to be about the Elizabethan courtly ideal of living with the barest necessities, like.
"There is in the Welsh bardic tradition much that is absolutely fundamental to Thomas' writing: its highly lyrical qualities; its strict formal control and an essentially romantic conception of the poet's function in society." (Selby 98) These traits parallel the three themes that will be belaboured in this essay: the aural/oral appeal of Dylan Thomas' work; his meticulous obscurity; and the role of the poet in society.
‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ and ‘The Preservation of Flowers’: two notable poems, two very different styles of writing. This essay will look at their contrasts and similarities, from relevant formal aspects, to the deeper meanings hidden between the lines. We will examine both writers use of rhyme scheme, sound patterning, word choice, figurative language and punctuation. It will also touch a little on the backgrounds of the writers themselves and their inspirations, with the intention of gaining a greater understanding of both texts.
Brautigan successfully makes his poem pastoral by transporting the reader into two distinctive rustic areas; a meadow and a forest. He then ceases to imitate the actual rural life within th...
He disowns himself from the “maddening crowds ignoble strife” (Gray), preferring instead to pretend he understands the struggles of the lower class. As a classical scholar and professor at Cambridge University, Thomas Gray knew very little about the struggles of the common man. Still, the attempt at establishing a connection between himself and those in the classes below, was not unnoticed as the elegy became his most well-known publication. The year before Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard was published, the European countries suffered several tax revolts from the public, a slave revolt and numerous natural disasters. All factors of a larger distrust separating the commoners and the rich. Gray associating himself with the misfortunes of the Everyman through this work, is a way for him to connect with his own mortality. Gray reflects upon death and how a person is remembered after they are gone. An argument could be made that these considerations are a comparison between Gray’s own achievements and those of the working class. Gray is remembered for his literary achievements, even now, but the plowman whom Gray’s narrator watches leave the churchyard is remembered for nothing but his momentary mention in the elegy. It is this realization that prompts his contemplation of the associations between Gray and the Everyman. Gray could have easily
Grey, Thomas. “Elegy Written in a Church Courtyard.” The Norton Anthology Of Poetry. shorter fifth edition. Ferguson, Margaret W. , Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy. New York, New York: W W Norton , 2005. 410-413. Print.
Nature is often a focal point for many author’s works, whether it is expressed through lyrics, short stories, or poetry. Authors are given a cornucopia of pictures and descriptions of nature’s splendor that they can reproduce through words. It is because of this that more often than not a reader is faced with multiple approaches and descriptions to the way nature is portrayed. Some authors tend to look at nature from a deeper and personal observation as in William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, while other authors tend to focus on a more religious beauty within nature as show in Gerard Manley Hopkins “Pied Beauty”, suggesting to the reader that while to each their own there is always a beauty to be found in nature and nature’s beauty can be uplifting for the human spirit both on a visual and spiritual level.
Metaphysical wit and conceit are two of the most famous literary devices used in the seventeenth century by poets such as John Donne. Emerging out of the Petrarchan era, metaphysical poetry brought a whole new way of expression and imagery dealing with emotional, physical and spiritual issues of that time. In this essay I will critically analyse the poem, The Flea written by John Donne in which he makes light of his sexual intentions with his lover.
In William Wordsworth’s poems, the role of nature plays a more reassuring and pivotal r ole within them. To Wordsworth’s poetry, interacting with nature represents the forces of the natural world. Throughout the three poems, Resolution and Independence, Tintern Abbey, and Michael, which will be discussed in this essay, nature is seen prominently as an everlasting- individual figure, which gives his audience as well as Wordsworth, himself, a sense of console. In all three poems, Wordsworth views nature and human beings as complementary elements of a sum of a whole, recognizing that humans are a sum of nature. Therefore, looking at the world as a soothing being of which he is a part of, Wordsworth looks at nature and sees the benevolence of the divinity aspects behind them. For Wordsworth, the world itself, in all its glory, can be a place of suffering, which surely occurs within the world; Wordsworth is still comforted with the belief that all things happen by the hands of the divinity and the just and divine order of nature, itself.
The poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth is about the poet’s mental journey in nature where he remembers the daffodils that give him joy when he is lonely and bored. The poet is overwhelmed by nature’s beauty where he thought of it while lying alone on his couch. The poem shows the relationship between nature and the poet, and how nature’s motion and beauty influences the poet’s feelings and behaviors for the good. Moreover, the process that the speaker goes through is recollected that shows that he isolated from society, and is mentally in nature while he is physically lying on his couch. Therefore, William Wordsworth uses figurative language and syntax and form throughout the poem to express to the readers the peace and beauty of nature, and to symbolize the adventures that occurred in his mental journey.
Works Cited Bergman, David, and Mark Epstein. The Heath Guide to Poetry. Lexington: D.C. Heath and Company, 1983. Print. The. Lancashire, Ian.