Question

Summary of deserted village by oliver goldsmith

Answer 1

The Deserted Village is a poem by Oliver Goldsmith published in 1770. It is a work of social commentary, and condemns rural depopulation and the pursuit of excessive wealth.

The location of the poem's deserted village is unknown, but the description may have been influenced by Goldsmith's memory of his childhood in rural Ireland, and his travels around England. The poem is written in heroic couplets, and describes the decline of a village and the emigration of many of its residents to America. In the poem, Goldsmith criticises rural depopulation, the moral corruption found in towns, consumerism, enclosure, landscape gardening, avarice, and the pursuit of wealth from international trade. The poem employs, in the words of one critic, "deliberately precise obscurity", and does not reveal the reason why the village has been deserted. The poem was very popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but also provoked critical responses, including from other poets such as George Crabbe.

Answer 2

In the poem "Deserted Village" Oliver Goldsmith laments about the decline of the population of the people living in rural areas. He speaks about the life of the people living in rustic condition. He criticizes the poet and the painters who do not speak about the problems of the people living in rural areas. He calls the inhabitants of the village as simple, and pure people who are very different from the clever and cynic people of the town. His poem shows a clear description and difference of rural Ireland and England. The poem can be considered as a piece of social commentary and political activism.