The Deserted Village is the masterpiece of Oliver Goldsmith(1728-1774).

The poem was first published on 26th May

1770. The strong infusion of personal feeling suggests that Auburn may have been the Irish village of Lissoy of
Goldsmith‟s child hood.

Introduction
“The Deserted Village”-Oliver Goldsmith‟s melancholy description of his village “Auburn”

The Deserted Village is essentially a sentimental poem, a display of emotion disproportionate to the actual effects of
"luxury" upon the countryside, has been impressively challenged by a number of Goldsmith's modern critics. The
studies of Howard J. Bell and Earl Miner have shown that Goldsmith's argument against luxury as a cause of rural
depopulation and, eventually, of national ruin is based on classical precedent and related to contemporary Tory
thinking, instead of being colored merely by nostalgia for his own rural origins.

In addition, as both Miner and John Montague have pointed out, this protest against luxury is fundamentally moral,
for by altering the rural economic order luxury undermines the moral and cultural values which have traditionally
informed that order.The national consequences of this Goldsmith clarifies toward the end of the poem, when
"contented toil" (403), "piety" (405), "steady loyalty" (406) and other qualities described as "rural virtues" (398) flee
luxury by leaving England altogether: the physical disasters of Auburn prefigure national moral chaos. The
emotionalism with which this argument is expounded, especially palpable in the speaker's description of the happy
past and present decay of "Sweet Auburn", stems largely from his own origins in the village, and thus has often
served to suggest that the poem expresses Goldsmith's own nostalgia

In the poem „The Deserted Village‟ Oliver Goldsmith portrays the simple rustic life and happiness. He is tormented
with the disappearance of this life. Signs of decay are everywhere. The rich usurp the rightful land of the peasant
dispossessing him and forcing him to emigrate. All through his life he had cherished the hope of returning to his
native village and spending the last few years of his life in rest and peace. He had dreamt of overwhelming the rustic
friends of his boyhood with his knowledge, and tales of his experiences. It was his earnest expectation that after
life‟s vexations were over he would return in this home and die amidst its much-loved surroundings. But those
expectations have now been completely destroyed. It would have been happiness for him if he could retire from a
life of temptation and spend his days in such a place. For that man alone can be happy for whom his fellowmen do
not have to labor with the sweet of their brows and encounter the dangers of the deep mines and the stormy seas.
Life in retirement means experience of heavenly bliss; for to such a man death comes with easy grace, and his days
are made smooth by resignation to his lot.

Thoughts of retirement revive in the poet‟s mind memories of the peace and blessedness of Auburn as it used to be
in his boyhood days. He recalls with pleasure the mingled sounds that rose in the village in the dusk of the evening,
the song of the milkmaid, the lowing of cows, the cackling of the geese, the merry shouts of school children. The
barking of the watch dogs, and above all, the care-free laughter of innocent minds. But the contrast that he now
experiences is tragic. There is no sound to be heard on the evening breeze. Only one poor window remains a
witness of all that the village had been; she now in her old age is forced to gather water-cress for her food and
faggots to keep her warm. She alone can tell the sad story of Auburn in its change from prosperity to desolation.

Auburn Village
In his poem, Goldsmith gives us a fascinating account of his sweet village Auburn. It is a matter of controversy whether such a village really
exists. It is believed that Goldsmith might have remembered Lissoy, a pretty Irish village, where he had spent his youthful years and idealized
it in his imagination. The poet presents us with two interesting contrasted pictures; a description of Auburn, the loveliest village of the plain
and then how the village lost its glory on account of inroad of luxury and wealth.
The village once teemed with life, now, presents a melancholy and deserted appearance
It was the days when spring came early to the village and blessed it with flowers. Summer lingered long with its many fragrant bloosoms.The
cottage nestling among trees, the well cultivated farm, the stream that never ran dry, the busy mill and the beautiful church crowning the hill
were among the familiar and lovely sights of the village.
There were seats provided under the hawthorn bush, where generous old people used to sit and chatter away and lovers reposed,
whispering sweet nothings. On holidays, the entire village would indulge in merry making. Sweet sound would fill the air. The pauses in the
nightingale‟s song would be filled with the watch dog‟s bark, the shouts of merry children, the laughter of peasants, and the cackle of geese,
the lowing of cattle, the milkmaid‟s song and the swain‟s loving response. Luxury and wealth were unknown to them. They were simple,
happy and contented.

Vice was unknown to the people of the village. Their best companions were innocence and health and their best riches, ignorance of wealth.
The only luxury that they ever permitted was gathering at the inn to drink ale, and discuss news older than the wine. The whole atmosphere
permeates with unbounded gaiety. Seated at the inn and sipping his glass of ale, each villager felt as proud as a king.

The village School master used to school in a small house in the village. The school was a noisy place; indeed, the master knew how to
control the boys. Students know how the behaviour the school master would be on the particular day, judging from the look on his face. He
had a stock of seasoned jokes with which he used to regale the boys. The boys would laugh uproariously with counterfeited glee, when he
repeated his jokes. If the school master is too severe, the fault had to be ascribed to his inordinate love of learning.

In contrast to this picture, the poet presents the state of desolation and melancholy, when he revisits his village after a long absence. The
entire village is deserted. All the familiar figures have vanished from there. Even the foot paths are overgrown with grass. There is no one to
tell the story of its desolation except the poor old lady, who makes a precarious living by gathering water cresses. The entire village is in the
grip of one master, who does not care even to cultivate it properly. The people, who once made the village so beautiful and pleasant, have
gone away to distant colonies to face untold adventures and earn a living, in spite of the greatest odds.

Thus we could see the Poet as an extraordinarily lovable character. We see him here in all the pathos of his life. His sufferings have lent a
sweetness and grandeur to his personality. His infinite love for humanity enshrines him in the hearts of all readers. No one can read through
the poem, without knowing the author and loving him.
Influence of Industrial Revolution
Conclusion

England's countryside was undergoing enclosure at this time. In earlier eras, the rich who held title to the land
needed peasants to tend it. There were actually laws to keep people from leaving. With the Industrial
Revolution, it became possible to produce vast amounts of things in one place & ship it out. One of the affected
areas was textiles - clothes could be produced & shipped in bulk. The rich discovered that they could make
more profits from their estates if they kicked out the people, built fences (enclosed the land), and raised sheep.
People whose ancesters had lived in an area for centuries suddenly found themselves jobless & homeless.
Whole villages were emptied. Territory was being converted to property. People wanted separation- private
space. Private property became a symbol of rank.

Since only property owners were allowed to vote, the poor had no real remedy for their displacement. Some left
the country (America was one destination); others move to cities. England turned from a land of farmers to a
land of factory workers & shopkeepers.
The Deserted Village condemns rural depopulation, the enclosure of common land, the creation of landscape gardens and
the pursuit of excessive wealth.[15] In Goldsmith's vision, wealth does not necessarily bring either prosperity or happiness.
Indeed, it can be dangerous to the maintenance of British liberties and displaces traditional community. [16] In making this
argument, some have regarded Goldsmith not as a political radical, but as a socially-concerned "conservative".[17] Indeed, his
emphasis on the corrupting effects of luxury fit closely with discourses associated with Tory writers of the time.[18