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The Village Schoolmaster
Oliver Goldsmith
About Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith (1730-1774) was an Irish poet and playwright. He is best known for his novel The Victor of Wakefield and the play She Stoops to Conquer. Among his best known works is the long poem 'The Deserted Village'. This poem was written in support of the rural way of life and is believed to have criticized the economic andpolitical changes that were threatening it.
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 truant knew;
Well had the boding tremblers learn'd to trace
The days 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 declar'd how much he knew;
'Twas certain he could write, and cipher too:
Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage,
And e'en the story ran that he could gauge.
In arguing too, the parson own'd his skill,
For e'en though vanquish'd he could argue still;
While words of learned length and thund'ring sound
Amazed the gazing rustics rang'd around;
And still they gaz'd and still the wonder grew,
That one small head could carry all he knew.
Available Answers
- 1.
List the things that the poet tells us the schoolmaster could do.
- 2.
Pick out two adjectives used to describe the schoolmaster from the first five lines. Justify the use of these words with instances from the rest of the poem.
- 3.
Read the following lines and answer the questions that follow:
There, in his noisy mansion, skill'd to rule,
The village master taught his little school;- Where is the school situated?
- Why is the mansion noisy?
- What is meant by 'skill'd to rule'?
- 4.
Read the following lines and answer the questions that follow:
Well had the boding treblers learn'd to trace
The day's disasters in his morning face;- Who were the tremblers?
- What is meant by 'morning face'? Whose face is being referred to?
- What did the tremblers learn from watching his face?
- 5.
Read the following lines and answer the questions that follow:
And still they gaz'd and still the wonder grew,
That one small head could carry all he knew.- Who gazed and at whom?
- What do these lines reflect about the people who 'gaz'd?
- What do these lines suggest about the person being gazed at?
- 6.
Oliver Goldsmith uses a range of details to breathe life into the village schoolmaster. How far do you agree with this statement? Illustrate your answer with examples from the poem.
1 more answer(s) available.
Comments
very nice website i love it but why did you not give answer book .
20 Sep 2020SANJOG P.most of these answers are wrong. For example, there is no mansion behind the school, the school is being referred to as the noisy mansion
25 Dec 2021Ameya R. M.This is a very good app and the guy who mentioned these answers is wrong I would like to say that you are wrong broo
10 Aug 2023Neera K.