The Social and Economic Background of Goldsmith's Deserted Village

On May 26, 1770, Oliver Goldsmith's Deserted Village was published. This poem, which has been subjected to repeated attacks by those who claim that it contains more sentimentality than sense, is Goldsmith's best known, most often quoted, and most highly regarded work. Even when the poem is considered alongside such other familiar Goldsmith works as The Traveller (1784), The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), and She Stoops to Conquer (1773), it remains the single achievement that did more to enhance Goldsmith's reputation than all his other works combined. The poem's central argument is that the accumulation of wealth in England's middle and nobles classes has caused the depopulation and impending destruction of English villages. Goldsmith claimed that The Deserted Village is a factual account of the eviction, pauperization, debasement, and dishonor that accompanied depopulation.