The Village School Master

The most central idea of

The most central idea of the poem is the schoolmaster's contradictory nature. On the surface, he is described as 'severe' and 'stern to view.' The chi

The second half of the poem

The second half of the poem shifts focus from fear to admiration. The entire village declares how much the schoolmaster knows. His abilities are liste

Goldsmith employs irony and humour throughout

Goldsmith employs irony and humour throughout the poem to create a balanced, affectionate portrait rather than a purely admiring or critical one. The

The poem is written entirely

The poem is written entirely in heroic couplets — pairs of rhyming lines in iambic pentameter. This was the dominant form of the neoclassical age, use

The poem opens with a vivid

The poem opens with a vivid description of the rural setting: 'Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way / With blossom'd furze unprofitably gay