"But all his serious thoughts had rest in Heaven. / As some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form, / Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm, / Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread, / Eternal sunshine settles on its head."
— Goldsmith, Oliver (1728?-1774)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
W. Griffin
Date
1770
Metaphor
"But all his serious thoughts had rest in Heaven. / As some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form, / Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm, / Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread, / Eternal sunshine settles on its head."
Metaphor in Context
At church, with meek and unaffected grace,
His looks adorned the venerable place;
Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway,
And fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray.
The service past, around the pious man,
With steady zeal, each honest rustic ran;
Even children followed with endearing wile,
And plucked his gown, to share the good man's smile.
His ready smile a parent's warmth expressed,
Their welfare pleased him and their cares distressed;
To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given,
But all his serious thoughts had rest in Heaven.
As some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form,
Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm,
Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head.
(ll. 177-192, pp. 683-4)
His looks adorned the venerable place;
Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway,
And fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray.
The service past, around the pious man,
With steady zeal, each honest rustic ran;
Even children followed with endearing wile,
And plucked his gown, to share the good man's smile.
His ready smile a parent's warmth expressed,
Their welfare pleased him and their cares distressed;
To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given,
But all his serious thoughts had rest in Heaven.
As some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form,
Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm,
Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head.
(ll. 177-192, pp. 683-4)
Categories
Provenance
Reading and HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 71 entries in ESTC (1770, 1771, 1772, 1773, 1775, 1777, 1779, 1780, 1782, 1783, 1784, 1786, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1795, 1796, 1798, 1799, 1800). Complicated publication history: consult William B. Todd, "The Private Issues of the Deserted Village," in Studies in Bibliography 6 (1954), 25-44.
The Deserted Village, a Poem. By Dr Goldsmith. (London: Printed for W. Griffin, at Garrick's Head, in Catharine Street, Strand, 1770). <Link to ECCO [false imprint]>
See also Poems and Plays. By Oliver Goldsmith, M.B. to Which Is Prefixed, the Life of the Author. (Dublin: Printed for Wm. Wilson, 1777). <Link to ECCO-TCP>
Text from Roger Lonsdale's The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, and Oliver Goldsmith (London and New York: Longman and Norton, 1972). <Link to LION>
The Deserted Village, a Poem. By Dr Goldsmith. (London: Printed for W. Griffin, at Garrick's Head, in Catharine Street, Strand, 1770). <Link to ECCO [false imprint]>
See also Poems and Plays. By Oliver Goldsmith, M.B. to Which Is Prefixed, the Life of the Author. (Dublin: Printed for Wm. Wilson, 1777). <Link to ECCO-TCP>
Text from Roger Lonsdale's The Poems of Thomas Gray, William Collins, and Oliver Goldsmith (London and New York: Longman and Norton, 1972). <Link to LION>
Date of Entry
11/27/2003
Date of Review
06/10/2010
