Theodora Tran
Section 1G
-an idealization of English rural life mingled with poignant memories of the poet’s own youth in Lissoy, Ireland
-concern about the effects of agricultural revolution, which was hastened by Enclosure Acts
-Alternative for people was to seek employment in the city or to migrate to America.
-In the poem, Goldsmith opposes “luxury” (the increase of wealth, the growth of cities, and the costly country estates of great noblemen and wealthy merchants) to “rural virtue” (the old agrarian economy that supported a sturdy population of independent peasants)
-poem is a nostalgic lament for a doomed way of life and a denunciation of what he regarded as the corrupting, destructive force of new wealth.
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There is a set of strong oppositions within the poems, such as:
health to decay
cheer to sadness
plenty to wanton wealth
The country went from natural to unnatural because of London's growth.
Nature is better than art.
As the rich become richer, the poor become poorer.
The country also use to be more masculine but has become more feminine.
This poem helped to create many stereotypes of men and women.
-Sharya de Silva Section 1E
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