Goldsmith (1728-74), the contemporary of Dr Johnson, was like Thomson to Pope. He has left behind him two critical poems, The Traveller (1164) and The Deserted Village (1770), and both are in heroic couplets. The first poem is didactic and is concerned with the description and criticism of the various places and people of Europe which Goldsmith visited as a tramp. The second poem is rich in natural descriptions and is vibrant with a peculiar note of sentiment and melancholy, which foreshadows nineteenth-century romantics; the substance of both poems foreshadows the rising romanticism of the day, but the diction is artificial and pompous in the Neo-classical tradition of the past.
WORKS CITED
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/oliver-goldsmith
https://allpoetry.com/Oliver-Goldsmith
Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan is a teacher, bilingual writer and artist with over two decades of experience in teaching English language and literature. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of English at NSS College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Her blog, ashlit.in brings together academic resources, creative writing in Malayalam and English, and visual art. The platform features lecture notes, study materials, poems, reflections, short prose, and a curated collection of her paintings. Through this space, she seeks to foster learning, creativity, and meaningful engagement with literature and the arts.
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