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.
But past is all his fame. The very spot
Where many a time he triumph'd is forgot.
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From guest Billy (contact)
My dad was an English teacher,and headmaster, while he was sick he recited many poems to myself and my Mother at his bedside, this was one of them. I recited the poem at his Funeral , it now has become synonomus with his memory. ..." And still they gaz'd and still the wonder grew, That one small head could carry all he knew" -
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The School Master
From guest Elegius (contact)
I studied this poem over 65 years ago when i was in grade V,the teacher in charge of which class, was a replica of the teacher in Oliver Goldsmith's poem "The Village Schoolmaster". He wanted the class to memorize this poem and memorize we did - so much so, that after 65 years, I know the poem by-heart. -
HI
From guest CHAMA (contact)
I WANT THE SUMMARY OF THE POEM
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This is hardly the way to go about getting it!
Firstly we are all volunteers here who use our own time and resources to help build this site. We do NOT do your homework, that's for you to do yourself. We have had to research, which takes time (and money in some cases) and this is exactly what you will need to do to get your own answers.
The little word 'please' can make all the difference.
Von - Oldpoetry Team
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Year
From guest Jawad Khan (contact)
I wanted to know when this poem was written
Reply: this poet lived between 1728-1774, - written date not located at the present time. If you should find it perhaps you could inform us, thanks
Von - Oldpoetry Team -
A MAN HE WAS TO ALL THE COUNTRY DEAR
From guest NARESH CHAND (contact)
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT POEM THESE LINES ARE FROM A MAN HE WAS TO ALL THE COUNTRY DEAR AND PASSING RICH WITH FOURTY POUNDS A YEAR -
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http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/12626-Oliver-Goldsmith-The-Deserted-Village
The lines you quote are also by Goldsmith and come from "The Desered Village"
Jim
Oldoetry Research Team
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is goldsmith making fun of the teacher at times??
From guest parizad (contact)
i feel that when i read the poem, some part of it feels like goldsmith is making fun of the school teacher? is that so? with lines like 'full well laughed with counterfeited glee'. why the word counterfeit is used here? can anyone throw light on this please?? thanks! but everything said and done... what vast knowledge the teachers had at that time!! they were a storehouse of information and walking talking encyclopaedia!! -
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For guest Parizad
If your teacher came to class in a morning looking fierce and upset you would force yourself to laugh at his jokes with "counterfeit" glee even though you didn't think them funny. Anything to get him in a good mood.
That's what these kids did for a teacher I think they actually liked.
Jim
Oldpoetry Research Team
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sweet poem!
From guest parizad (contact)
what i liked abt this poem is that it reminded me that teachers of those times had to be well versed with everything.... will all the subjects because in villages especially they dont have a different teacher for different subjects and its just this one teacher whom the students look up to for all their knowledge and for their better future. -
thank you! im trying to recall this poem,many years! was stuck in my head since the 60s!
From guest theresa oliver (contact)
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the village school master
From guest Joy Luke (contact)
I had cared for a an Irish Nun for 2 1/2 years. She was 99 years of age, who recently died. At her funeral they reminiscenced about her life. It was mentioned that Sr remembered by heart & loved this poem plus another one called 'Grey's elegy in the church yard'. She was self educated and became a teacher here in Australia. Possibly her love for this poem may have represented part of her self. For me, reminds me of an old teacher I use to have & loved.
MOD MESSAGE
I think this http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/4193-Thomas-Gray-Elegy-Written-in-a-Country-Churchyard is the other poem you mentioned that the sister liked. -
The Village Schoolmaster
From guest Von Garro (contact)
Hi, I think(if my dwindling memory serves me correctly!) that it should be "noisy mansion". -
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Guest Von Garro
My collection agrees with your re-collection and it has been corrected.
Many Thanks
Op Team
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The Village Schoolmaster
From guest Von Garro (contact)
I learned this poem in school in Ireland, by heart (verbatim) when I was 8 years old. I still can't see a furze bush without thinking of it, 40 years later!Such a clever phrase "blossomed furze, unprofitably gay" and such a lovely way to describe a wild thorny bush that is so taken for granted where I live. -
refreshes old thoughts
From guest nazmeen (contact)
wonderful to recolect memories of my school life loved d way he hgas writen it ossom .a big thank u -
The Village School Master
From guest Dr. B. ILANGO (contact)
I have read this poetry as a young boy; I still read it as a 70-year old retired Vice-Chancellor! The lines of Goldsmith endure the ecstasy for their diction and poesy and continue to inspire students and teachers alike, all over the world. The words 'he could write and cipher too' emphasize the desideratum of the day, namely, the importance of communication skills and analytical skills. Dr. B. ILANGO -
From guest Santanu Chakrabarty (contact)
Today at the age of 49 I still find how relevant the Goldsmith's description of school teacher is. Yesterday's caning appears so nostalgic today: perhaps the teachers then wanted to develop their students. May be the meaning amiss today. -
The Village Schoolmaster
From guest Pratap N. Mathur (contact)
I remember this poem from my Grade VIII, in the Year 1933. It was in the Government High School, of Fatehgarh, a dusty little town in the plains of north India. Mr. Rao was our English Teacher, and fitted Goldsmith's dscription of the Village Schoolmaster, to a tee! We used to laugh and giggle at the thought! He used to enter the classroom, cane in hand, swishing it severely up and down, till it hummed! He was a big, fat man, with a Rajputi moustache, and always sported a fierce visage! Quite the figure of terror was he! Even so, in all fairness, let it be said, that in all his 2 years - Grades VII & VIII - that he taught us, he used the cane to give us of its best, only a few times! Just like in the poem, we could tell when that was going to be! We could trace the 'day's disasters in his morning face'! He later fell sick of one of the many afflictions that plagued India in those days. There were no antibiotics then. I saw him slowly shrivel and grow weak. I hope he recovered, but I never knew, since my father, in govenment service, was transferred, and we moved to another town where I joined Grade IX. P.S. In our school version, the line "For e'en though vanquish'd, he could argue still" appeared in a simpler form: "For, though defeated, he could argue still!" And personally, I rather fancy my old school version as the better of the two! -
beautiful
From guest apurva (contact)
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. these lines are very amazing. -
amazing
From guest apurva (contact)
this poem is just amazing. its a poem where we come to know about the strict techers. we know the reason that why they are so strict at times.hence its a poem which should be read by everybody. -
The poem
From guest Polly (contact)
i am studying this for GCSE english and i think it is a lovely poem. three lines of it are on my papa's grave: 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: it is him to a T, it makes me feel like i know him again even though he dies so long ago. -
What should be done?
From guest Raina (contact)
Goldsmith's idea of a VILLAGE Schoolmaster is engaging.I reall think what should be done to arouse such a feeling in modern students? -
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Error
From guest Mick King (contact)
The line eight from bottom should read: "In arguing too, the Parson own'd his skill," -
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Thank you guest Mick King. It reads parson now!
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The village schoolmaster
It is more prosaic. Though the contents are engaging, poetry is somewhat outmoded. Ofcourse,interesting to read once.
Nuggehalli Pankaja -
There were remnants of teachers such as this when I as a child went to school. There was no reverence as such but definite fear and/or respect for school teachers. We did as we were instructed or cop the punishment.So many times I was happy NOT to be a boy. However after having left school and today 40+ years on I remember some of my teachers with an unexplainable fondness and respect. Something I feel the modern students will not feel as their lives progress.
Goldsmith lived in a time when most people of 'position' were revered by the working masses regardless of their input into society, that can still be said of modern times though.
Von -
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From guest kd (contact)
This poem is a classic that should be carried down through the years. I learnt it as a student in school and I still believe that is a description of my school headmaster at the time. -
And still they gaz'd and still the wonder grew,
That one small head could carry all he knew.
Unfortunately not a phrase I used much in all my years of teaching.
Goldsmith has captured the times when a teacher was a person to reckon with in a village. A multi-faceted person rather than the specialists we pedagogues have become.
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