Description: Recent research into a self-taught tradition of English rural poetry has radically changed our view of the role of poetry in the literary culture of the eighteenth century. Here John Goodridge compares poetic accounts of rural labor by James Thomson, Stephen Duck and Mary Collier, and makes a close analysis of John Dyer's The Fleece. Goodridge goes on to explore the purpose of rural poetry and how it relates to the real world, and reveals an illuminating link between rural poetry and agricultural and folkloric developments of the time.
Review Quotes: "Few scholars bring to the study of rural poetry a working knowledge of modern as well as 18th-century agricultural life. Goodridge writes about his subject as if he knows his sheep and understands the seasons and rhythms of country life....The best book on 18th-century poetry in years. Rigorous enough for period specialists and historians, but accessible to all." Choice