Oliver Goldsmith's Writings
Illustration from The Vicar of Wakefield
Illustration from a 1939 edition of The Vicar of Wakefield. This edition was illustrated by John Austen and published by The Heritage Press, New York.
Illustration from The Vicar of Wakefield
Illustration from The Vicar of Wakefield
Illustration from a 1939 edition of The Vicar of Wakefield. This edition was illustrated by John Austen and published by The Heritage Press, New York.
In 1766, Oliver Goldsmith published a novel, The Vicar of Wakefield. It was a very successful book at the time it was published and remains one of his most famous works. Already an accomplished essayist, poet and novelist, Goldsmith also became known as a playwright. In 1768, his first play The Good Natured Man was produced. His dramatic comedy She Stoops to Conquer, produced at Covent Garden in 1773, remains his most well-known play.
Leaving the Deserted Village
This illustration is from a late nineteenth-century edition of 'The Deserted Village', illustrated by H.L. Richardson and printed by Addine House, London.
Leaving the Deserted Village
Leaving the Deserted Village
This illustration is from a late nineteenth-century edition of 'The Deserted Village', illustrated by H.L. Richardson and printed by Addine House, London.
Goldsmith's long poem, 'The Deserted Village' (1770) is another of his famous works. It contains scenes of rural life and depicts the harsh fate of the country poor at the hands of wealthy landowners and industrialists.
Goldsmith wrote many works, including essays and a travelogue, and was very prolific throughout his writing life.
The Deserted Village
Portrait of Oliver Goldsmith, by Sir Joshua Reynolds
A 1770 portrait of Oliver Goldsmith from the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Goldsmith is famous as a poet and playwright.
Portrait of Oliver Goldsmith, by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Portrait of Oliver Goldsmith, by Sir Joshua Reynolds
A 1770 portrait of Oliver Goldsmith from the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Goldsmith is famous as a poet and playwright.
One of Oliver Goldsmith's most famous works is his long poem 'The Deserted Village'
. This poem is about how rural communities suffered in the eighteenth century through forced emigration and poverty. Goldsmith was concerned that the Industrial Revolution was ruining rural communities. He thought that a small number of people were profiting from industry, while the poorer people were forced to leave their homes to find work in the cities. The pastoral setting in the poem is a fictional village called Auburn, which once had a thriving community but is now deserted.
The following passage from the poem describes the schoolmaster in Auburn:
'Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way,
With blossom'd furze unprofitably gay,
There, in his noisy mansion, skill'd to rule,
The village master taught his little school.
A man severe he was and stern to view;
I knew him well, and every traunt knew:
Well had the boding tremblers learn'd to trace
The day's disasters in his morning face;
Full well they laugh'd, with counterfeited glee,
At all his jokes, for many a joke had he;
Full well the busy whisper, circling round,
Convey'd the dismal tidings when he frown'd.
Yet he was kind, or if severe in aught,
The love he bore to learning was in fault.
The village all declared how much he knew;
'Twas certain he could write and cipher too;
Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage,
And even the story ran that he could gauge.
In arguing too, the parson own'd his skill,
For even though vanquish'd, he could argue still;
While words of learned length and thundering sound
Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around;
And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew,
That one small head could carry all he knew.'
Illustration for The Deserted Village
Illustration from Cassell's Illustrated Works of Oliver Goldsmith. This is taken from a London edition published by Cassell, Petter and Galpin with an introduction by John Francis Waller.
The following passage from the poem describes the schoolmaster in Auburn:
'Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way,
With blossom'd furze unprofitably gay,
There, in his noisy mansion, skill'd to rule,
The village master taught his little school.
A man severe he was and stern to view;
I knew him well, and every traunt knew:
Well had the boding tremblers learn'd to trace
The day's disasters in his morning face;
Full well they laugh'd, with counterfeited glee,
At all his jokes, for many a joke had he;
Full well the busy whisper, circling round,
Convey'd the dismal tidings when he frown'd.
Yet he was kind, or if severe in aught,
The love he bore to learning was in fault.
The village all declared how much he knew;
'Twas certain he could write and cipher too;
Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage,
And even the story ran that he could gauge.
In arguing too, the parson own'd his skill,
For even though vanquish'd, he could argue still;
While words of learned length and thundering sound
Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around;
And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew,
That one small head could carry all he knew.'