An analysis and comparison of the treatment of rural life in Wordsworth’s "Michael: A Pastoral Poem" and Robert Burns "To a mouse"

Résumé ou Introduction

In the following essay the presentation of the rural life in William Wordsworth's 'Michael: A Pastoral Poem' and in Robert Burns' 'To a mouse' shall be analyzed and compared. During the close examination of the poems at hand it will be considered whether Burns actually wrote a Pastoral since Burns monologue towards a mouse is sensible and melancholic but does not explicitly meet the definition of a pastoral. The pastoral poem in general concerns with a shepherd’s lifestyle with special focus to the natural surroundings and their ascendancy for the individual's attitude towards life. The poet engages in ideas about innocence and 'the incidentals of pastoral become the guardians of his soul' in a most interesting way. While ultimately many poets have written poetry of pastoral nature it was treated rather as a mode than as a genre and allowed for considerable playfulness and ingenuity. (Fairer, p. 79) Thanks to said malleability the pastoral, although its ideals have to a certain extend been deflated by the use of extensive irony and satire, could persist and be formed anew. Wordsworth's poem serves as a remarkable example of such irony and due to the greater length of ‘Michael: A Pastoral Poem' the focus will naturally be put there yet both shall be dealt with in sufficient length. Wordsworth role as a narrator and perceivable character corresponds with Fairer's assessment of the poet’s role in pastoral poems. According to Fairer 'the poet is self-consciously listening to his own bland rhetoric before the final rueful comment emerges – conclusive, yet almost in parenthesis, as if he is turning away from the scene.'
Although it may be argued that 'self-consciously' can easily be misunderstood in that the poet overestimates his own importance, it also highlights the poet’s role as the presenter of critical thought and initiator of discourse. Moreover, pastoral writing has defined the scope of living in town and living in the countryside. However, the descriptions of poetry and the actual living conditions in rural ambiance must not be confused. According to Goodridge great caution needs to 'be exercised in extrapolating social history from literature, especially from the most mystifying of literary forms, poetry.' Subsequently, the notion of the pastoral, thus the presentation of rural life differs vastly amongst poets which raises the need for close examination of the topic.