It is common to think of the pastoral and Country House poem as poetic types dedicated to praising and celebrating country life. But as unit 2 demonstrates, poets approached the representation of nature and human beings’ place in and relation to it in radically different ways. How, then, can we write about country poetry as a literary kind? What sort of narratives can literary scholars (like you) construct? Read the critical piece by Christopher Wortham that I recently uploaded to Blackboard. Then, develop an argument that relates two poems of your choosing (from unit 2) in terms that build on Wortham’s claims ((by agreeing with and contesting his claims). Think about how Wortham, both explicitly and implicitly, argues that social and political conditions have shaped the pastoral or country house poetic tradition, how one poem knows, refers to, and reconfigures its historical predecessor(s). It might be helpful to think of his essay as both a model for your writing and as a secondary source. Please note that I am not requiring you to write on Milton’s Paradise Lost. As I mentioned in class as well, you are not allowed to write on Vertigo or The Remains of the Day for this assignment.
Just read and refer to wortham’s article as mentioned in the directions above. DO NOT BASE WHOLE ESSAY ON WORTHAM.
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