To what extent is pastoral poetry a lamentation for a changing landscape and disappearing ways of life? Draw on the work of three poets
To lament is to feel sorrow for something. To an extent, it could be said that pastoral poetry is indeed a lament for a changing landscape and ways of life; however, I think it can be nostalgic and remember the past fondly, or even not provide a positive or negative outlook at all. Elizabeth Jennings is a pastoral poet who’s work does seem to lament for the past and the way things have changed. Dylan Thomas also displays this in his works, however, it could be debated that he actually provides a positive outlook. Larkin however, is different to both of the previous poets as he seems to provide an in difference in the tone of his poetry.
Elizabeth Jennings’ work is an example of pastoral poetry that does lament for a changing landscape and ways of life. In her poem ‘’In a Garden’’ Jennings’ seems to lament for a time where man was closer to nature, which in pastoral poetry is often synonymous or very closely related to God, this time specifically being in the Garden of Eden before the fall of man. The narrator of the poem says ‘’I still felt lost and I wonder why.’’ This shows that she knows something is missing, however she is not sure why, but the general lexis of the poem seems to suggest that she misses (or laments) a time for when Man was still in Eden and closer to God. This can be supported by the last line which says ‘’Sickness for Eden was so strong.’’ Furthermore, in her poem ‘’A Chorus’’ She seems to lament for a time before the world became more modernised and industrial. In lines 2 and 3 it says ‘’Over the pastoral valleys and meadows/Over the cities with their factory darkness./’’ The choice of the word ‘darkness’ connotes a negative image, and one that juxtaposes the typical pastoral utopia which often consists of natural, green and ‘innocent’ imagery. From these two poems from Jennings’ works we can see that to an extent pastoral poetry is a lament for a changing landscape and a changing way of life in the form of man’s relationship with God or nature.
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Another poet that can be used to suggest that the pastoral genre is a lamentation for a changing landscape and disappearing ways of life is Dylan Thomas. In his poem ‘Fern Hill’ we can see that he may have a rather negative view or lament for the past. The first line says ‘’I was young and easy and under the apple boughs.’’ This shows that in the past he remembers it being positive when he was young and therefore innocent. He also says ‘’I was the prince of the apple towns.’’ This shows that in his innocence and perhaps naivety he thought he was much more important than he is, but the tone of the first few stanzas is a positive one. Also, the mentioning of the apples shows his connection with nature from when he was young.. However, as the poem progresses and towards the end specifically the tone becomes more negative, and almost makes the narrator seem like he is not happy, which could be used to suggest that this poem is a lamentation for his childhood. This can be supported contextually as Dylan Thomas visited a family farm when he was older and remembered the time there from when he was younger. In the last line, it says ‘’time held me green and dying’’. This could mean that as time went on, time did not let Thomas go and Thomas saw this as a negative thing, shown by his lexical choices.
This could therefore mean that he laments growing older at all, which is of course a changing way of life. Therefore this poem could be used to suggest that to an extent, pastoral poetry is a lamentation for a changing way of life. However, there is also an alternative interpretation that can be made from this poem. When it says ‘’time held me’’ The word ‘held’ may not mean held against his will, but perhaps a calm more gentle hold, softening his course through life. This ambiguity means that the poem is open to interpretation on whether it is positive or negative or not as this last stanza is very important. However the next line suggests that it is a positive one. It says ‘’though I sang in my chains like the sea.’’ The fact that he was dying and time had brought him there and he said he sung shows that he was still happy or perhaps more acceptant of death. Also, saying ‘’chains like the sea’’ is ambiguous as he suggests captivity through the use of the word ‘’chains’’ however the sea is something which often connotes unpredictability and uncontrollable power. Therefore this may not be a lamentation at all.
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Larkin’s poetry seems to go against the statement and shows that pastoral poetry is not a lament at all. In his poem ‘’church going’’ he seems to do quite the opposite of lament for the past. He seems to speak about it negatively. The poem is his thoughts about going to church every Sunday and how he seems to not see the point anymore. He says that he ‘’Reflect the place was not worth stopping for. Yet stop I did; in fact I often do.’’ The fact that he describes it as not stopping for suggests that he doesn’t really admire the concept of church or going there, and even suggests that his belief in God is fading or not even there at all. This point can be supported by the quote ‘’But superstition, like belief must die.’’ This shows that’s he doesn’t believe God and the church will last forever however he does not seem saddened by this, but the tone seems to suggest that he actually feels indifferent to it. He also describes ‘’his representative’’ as ‘’bored, uninformed’’ showing that he really has no interest in the church and once again is not really sure why he goes, this is just a simple observation or commentary on the act of going to church. Therefore, he does not show a lamentation for a changing landscape or way of life, as he doesn’t seem to care about what happens in the place of going to church, he was just commenting on what he thinks may happen.
In conclusion, whilst pastoral poets such as Jennings do show a lamentation for a changing landscape and way of life, it is not necessary or always prevalent in Pastoral poetry. Some poetry is ambiguous such as Thomas’ work where it could be interpreted either way; however some poetry is not a lamentation at all, such as Larkin’s. Therefore, although it is to an extent, it is not a lamentation for changing landscapes and ways of life to an even greater extent.
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