“The Scholar Gipsy” as a Pastoral Elegy. 

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 Discuss “The Scholar Gipsy” as a pastoral elegy. 

A pastoral elegy is a sad poem that mourns someone’s death or loss and uses nature (peaceful countryside) as a background. The word “pastoral” means something about the life of shepherds, fields, and nature. So, in a pastoral elegy, the poet uses natural beauty and the rural setting to express deep sorrow or loss. Some famous pastoral elegies are John Milton’s “Lycidas” and P. B. Shelley’s “Adonais.”

“The Scholar Gipsy” as a Pastoral Elegy

Matthew Arnold’s (1822-1888) “The Scholar Gipsy” (1853) is also a pastoral elegy, though it is a little different. In this poem, the poet is not mourning a clear death, but he is sad about the loss of hope, purity, and peace in modern life. The poet tells the story of the Scholar Gipsy, a poor Oxford student who left his studies to live among the gipsies. Unlike modern people, the Scholar Gipsy was full of hope, peace, and purity. Arnold uses the form of a pastoral elegy to express his sadness about modern life.

Pastoral Scenes: The poem is full of beautiful natural scenes. Arnold describes the fields, hills, flowers, and rivers of the Oxford countryside. The speaker watches the shepherd and reapers working in the field. He then tells the shepherd that he will remain out there until sunset. He will enjoy the scenery and study the towers of Oxford. The poet writes:

“Through the thick corn the scarlet poppies peep…”

So, there are shepherds, sheep, cornfields, poppies, and wildflowers. It gives us a picture of the peaceful countryside, which is the style of a pastoral elegy.

Mourning the Modern Life: We find a sad tone in this poem. Arnold is mourning the modern world. Because the modern world is full of confusion, doubt, and tiredness. The poet says that modern people do not have one clear aim. They are always changing their thoughts and desires. He writes,

“Each strives,

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