Matthew Arnold’s “The Scholar Gipsy,” published in 1853, is a lyrical poem renowned for its evocative descriptions of the Oxfordshire countryside and its profound meditation on the spiritual malaise of Victorian England. It tells the story, based on a 17th-century Oxford legend, of a young student who abandons his academic pursuits to join a band of Romany, seeking a life of deeper wisdom and untainted connection with nature, free from the “sick hurry” and “divided aims” of modern existence. The poem’s enduring appeal lies in its blend of natural beauty, philosophical inquiry, and a deep-seated longing for authenticity.
The question of whether “The Scholar Gipsy” can be classified as a pastoral elegy invites a detailed examination of both the poem’s thematic and structural elements, as well as the defining characteristics of the pastoral elegy genre. A pastoral elegy traditionally laments the death of a specific individual, often a poet or artist, within an idealized rural setting. It typically involves an invocation of Muses, a procession of mourners, a questioning of nature or fate, and ultimately, a form of consolation or reconciliation. Classic examples include John Milton’s “Lycidas,” Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Adonais,” and Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “In Memoriam A.H.H.” While “The Scholar Gipsy” certainly possesses strong pastoral elements and an elegiac tone, its adherence to the core convention of mourning a deceased person is a nuanced point that requires careful consideration.
A Comprehensive Examination of “The Scholar Gipsy” as a Pastoral Elegy
To assess whether “The Scholar Gipsy” fits the mould of a pastoral elegy, it is essential to deconstruct both components of the term: “pastoral” and “elegy.”
The Pastoral Dimension
The “pastoral” element in “The Scholar Gipsy” is undeniably prominent and deeply woven into the fabric of the poem. Matthew Arnold meticulously crafts a vivid, idyllic landscape of the Oxfordshire countryside, saturated with classical pastoral imagery. The speaker, himself a figure reminiscent of a shepherd-poet, observes and describes the natural world with a keen eye for detail and a profound sense of tranquility.
The poem opens with an immediate immersion into this bucolic setting: “Go, for they call you, Shepherd, from the hill; Go, Shepherd, and untie the wattled cotes! No longer leave thy wistful flock unfed, Nor let thy bawling fellows rack their throats.”
This direct address to a “Shepherd” immediately establishes the pastoral framework, evoking the traditional figure associated with rural tranquility and poetic contemplation. Throughout the poem, Arnold continues to deploy rich, sensory descriptions of the natural world: the “winking lights” of the village, the “thin smoke” rising from cottages, the “green-muffled” cuckoo, the “white walls” and “chapels” of Oxford seen from afar, the “red cloaks” of the students, the “warm, green-muffled” fields, and the “blue-bells” and “orchid-spotted” meadows. These natural elements are not merely decorative; they form the very canvas upon which the poem’s intellectual and spiritual drama unfolds. The speaker frequently observes the natural cycle of day and night, the changing seasons, and the simple activities of rural life, reinforcing the sense of timelessness and harmony that stands in stark contrast to the modern world he critiques.
The Oxford setting, though academic, is consistently framed within this pastoral landscape, with the scholar’s decision to abandon the city for the gipsy life symbolizing a deeper engagement with the earth and a rejection of artificiality. The Scholar Gipsy himself becomes an embodiment of this pastoral ideal, wandering freely, living in harmony with nature, and accumulating wisdom from observation rather than books. This deliberate choice of setting and imagery firmly places “The Scholar Gipsy” within the pastoral tradition, making it a compelling exploration of nature as a source of truth and peace.
The Elegiac Dimension and Its Nuance
The classification of “The Scholar Gipsy” as an “elegy” presents a more complex and debatable point. Traditionally, an elegy is a formal lament for a deceased person, often focusing on themes of loss, grief, mortality, and eventual consolation. While “The Scholar Gipsy” possesses a pervasive melancholic and contemplative tone, it conspicuously lacks a specific, named deceased individual being mourned. This fundamental deviation from the genre’s primary convention is crucial.
However, the poem undeniably possesses a strong elegiac mood and purpose. The “lament” in “The Scholar Gipsy” is not for the death of a person, but for a lost ideal, a way of life, a spiritual purity, and the singleness of purpose that the titular Scholar Gipsy embodies. The poem laments the “malady of the modern world,” characterized by “sick hurry” and “divided aims,” which contrasts sharply with the Scholar Gipsy’s enduring clarity and unwavering pursuit of truth.
Consider the speaker’s longing and admiration for the Scholar Gipsy: “For what wears out the life of mortal men? ’Tis that from change to change their being rolls; ’Tis that repeated shocks, again, again, Exhaust the energy of strongest souls, And numb the elastic powers of six or seven souls.
Too fast for toil, too fast for pay, They wear away in the noon-day sun, And leave their tasks undone, And die, and are forgotten ere they start.“
Here, the “loss” being mourned is the spiritual exhaustion and fragmentation of modern life, the inability to achieve a focused, authentic existence. The Scholar Gipsy, by contrast, “still, through the pine-wood alleys, into the sun, / He wanders, keeping the watch and ward from his bed.” He has achieved an immunity to this modern malady, a state of grace and unwavering purpose that is deeply desired by the speaker and, by extension, by Arnold for his society.
The poem, therefore, functions as an elegy for the absence of this spiritual integrity in the contemporary world. The Scholar Gipsy becomes a symbolic figure, an embodiment of a lost potential or an unattainable ideal. His continued existence in the natural world, his unchanging purity, underscores the tragedy of the fragmented, restless modern mind. The poem’s elegiac quality thus stems from a profound sense of yearning and regret for what society has lost or failed to achieve.
Conventions of Pastoral Elegy and Their Application in “The Scholar Gipsy”
Let us examine the specific conventions of a traditional pastoral elegy and how “The Scholar Gipsy” either adheres to or deviates from them:
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Mourning a Deceased Person: This is the most significant point of departure. As noted, the poem does not mourn a literal death. Instead, it mourns the spiritual and intellectual decay of a society, personified by the symbolic presence of the Scholar Gipsy who has escaped this fate. The “loss” is abstract rather than concrete.
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Pastoral Setting: Strongly present and fundamental. The poem is set in an idealized Oxfordshire countryside, replete with natural imagery, rural activities, and a sense of timeless tranquility. This is the clearest link to the pastoral elegy tradition.
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Invocation of Muses/Deities: Not explicitly present in the form of a classical invocation. However, the speaker’s sustained, reflective, and almost meditative address to the natural world and the legend itself serves a similar purpose, setting a serious and contemplative tone. The “Shepherd” address at the beginning echoes the pastoral tradition’s poetic persona.
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Procession of Mourners: No literal procession. The speaker is the primary observer and lamenter. However, the collective “we” who suffer from the “malady of the modern world” can be seen as an implicit group of shared anguish, contrasting with the singular, uncorrupted Scholar Gipsy.
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Questioning of Nature/Fate: The poem implicitly questions the trajectory of modern society and the conditions that lead to its “sick hurry” and “divided aims.” It probes the nature of wisdom, purpose, and spiritual health, effectively asking why the modern world has lost the coherence embodied by the Scholar Gipsy.
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Praise for the Deceased: While the Scholar Gipsy is not deceased, he is extensively praised and idealized. The poem celebrates his singular aim, his detachment from worldly cares, his unwavering quest for truth, and his harmonious existence in nature. He is presented as a paragon, a beacon of what humanity could be if not for its self-inflicted spiritual wounds.
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Consolation/Reconciliation: This element is present, albeit in a metaphorical and symbolic form, rather than a literal one like the promise of resurrection. The “consolation” comes from the enduring existence of the Scholar Gipsy as a symbol of possibility. His continued wandering offers a glimmer of hope that a life of authenticity and spiritual integrity is achievable, or at least a powerful ideal to strive for. The poem’s ending, with the extended simile of the Tyrian trader, serves as a form of “consolation” by suggesting an escape from spiritual contamination. The trader, upon encountering foreign, less sophisticated traders, turns his back and seeks new, uncontaminated shores, symbolizing the Scholar Gipsy’s turning away from the corrupting influences of the modern world and preserving his purity. This serves as a lesson for the reader, offering a path to spiritual preservation by rejecting the “falsehood of the present.”
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Deification/Apotheosis: The Scholar Gipsy is not deified in the religious sense, but he is elevated to a mythical, almost timeless status. He becomes an archetype, a living legend, embodying an enduring ideal. He transcends mortality in a symbolic sense, existing outside the ravages of time and societal change, thus achieving a form of apotheosis as an ideal.
“The Scholar Gipsy” as a Modern Elegy
Given these points, “The Scholar Gipsy” can be seen as a modern adaptation or reimagining of the pastoral elegy. Matthew Arnold masterfully employs the traditional framework to address contemporary social and philosophical concerns, shifting the focus from individual death to the broader “death” or decay of spiritual vitality in an age of rapid change and industrialization. It is an elegy not for a life lost, but for a spiritual condition lost or threatened.
By focusing on an idealized figure who embodies resistance to the “sick hurry” of modern life, Matthew Arnold uses the elegiac mode to critique Victorian England society. The Scholar Gipsy serves as a symbolic counterpoint to the fragmentation and intellectual exhaustion that Arnold observed. The poem is deeply elegiac in its nostalgia for a simpler past and its lament for the psychological toll of modern existence. The melancholy that pervades the poem is a reflection of this profound sense of loss and yearning for what has been sacrificed in the name of progress.
The poem’s power lies in its ability to transform a traditional genre into a vehicle for social commentary and philosophical reflection. It demonstrates Matthew Arnold’s characteristic concern with the “disease of modern life,” offering the Scholar Gipsy as a symbol of clarity and resilience. The poem invites the reader to mourn, not a person, but the absence of wholeness and purpose in their own lives and society.
In conclusion, “The Scholar Gipsy” stands as a poignant example of Arnold’s poetic genius and his engagement with the anxieties of his age. While it lacks the direct lament for a specific deceased individual that characterizes the strictest definition of a pastoral elegy, it undeniably employs the pastoral setting, the elegiac tone, and the structure of praise and symbolic consolation. It is a lament, not for a person’s physical end, but for the spiritual entropy and fragmentation of a society, personified by the enduring, uncorrupted figure of the Scholar Gipsy.
Therefore, “The Scholar Gipsy” is best understood as a pastoral elegy of a new kind – one that broadens the genre’s scope to encompass the mourning of a cultural or spiritual ideal rather than an individual. It retains the essential mood of solemn reflection and yearning for a lost purity, set within a beautifully rendered natural landscape. This innovative application of the elegiac mode allows Arnold to use the framework of a traditional form to address the profound and complex challenges facing humanity in the modern world, mourning the spiritual decay of his time while holding up an enduring symbol of authentic existence. It is a masterpiece that both pays homage to and redefines the conventions of the pastoral elegy, making it a powerful commentary on the human condition.