_A_Ramble_in_St._James_Park___an_Urban_Influence_on_a_Pastoral_Escape

Matthew Cocco English 201 Short-Paper Exercise “A Ramble in St. James’s Park”: An Urban Influence on a Pastoral Escape In the poem “A Ramble in St. James’s Park,” by John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester, the urban ideals of London have a profound effect on the pastoral qualities St. James’s Park is supposed to offer. The purpose of St James’s Park is to provide a place of escape from the city for people to embrace a pure, simple, private lifestyle. But since the park is surrounded by a sprawling city, the urban concept of living a complex and public life full of sexuality defiantly alters such a pastoral existence. Within the poem, Rochester constantly alludes to how the pastoral aspects of easy joys and purity are tainted by the vulgarity and fast-paced sex drive of urban influences. The intertwining of both urban and pastoral qualities can be witnessed immediately in the title of the poem. A “ramble” can be construed as a leisurely, aimless wander which is evident in a simple life. Choosing a more pastoral, or rural, lifestyle coincides with enjoyment of subtle actions such as taking a slow stroll without a care in the world. When undertaking a pastoral way of life, one has pure intentions and truly enjoys the methodical pace of a private and simple existence. On the other end of the spectrum is the fulfillment of urban ideologies. The word “ramble” also means to talk in an aimless manner which can be labeled as gossip. If one lives on a farm, gossip is not a daily function due to a lack of people, but an urban area contains a much denser population that allows a quicker exchange of speech among individuals and groups. With accelerated communication comes a more complex melting pot of beliefs which creates more complexity in one’s life as a whole. Elaborating on the idea of “ramble” in pastoral and urban societies, the first eight lines of the poem demonstrate the effects of ongoing conversation: Much Wine had past, with grave Discourse, Of who Fucks who, and who do’s worse; Such as you usually do hear From them that Diet at the Bear, When I, who still take care to see Drunk’nness Reliev’d by Lechery, Went out into St. James’s Park, To cool my Head, and fire my Heart (ll. 1-8) The speaker explains how he steps outside to escape the chatter and get some fresh air(a pastoral motive to free himself of the public atmosphere and sexual conversation. But then he says how he is still thinking about sexual acts which is an urban idea challenging a pastoral one. This is a great example of how urban traits influence the park and the escape it offers. Also, in the passage, the speaker says he “went out into” the park from the tavern which tells how he, even upon exiting the public aura, never leaves the urban mindset of sexual expression. Sexuality becomes more prominent when the poem fuses together sexual and nature-like references. While masturbation and incest are mentioned, the earthly features of the sky and mandrakes are brought up in the poem as well: There, by a most Incestuous Birth, Strange Woods Spring from the teeming Earth: For they relate how heretofore When ancient Pict began to Whore, Deluded of his Assignation, (Jilting it seems was then in fashion.) Poor pensive Lover in this place. Wou’d Frig upon his Mothers Face; Whence Rows of Mandrakes tall did rise, Whose Lewd tops Fuck’d the very Skies. (ll. 11-20) The passage above explains the birth of woods from the ground (pastoral) as a result from incest (urban). Both ideals are mixed together with the impure act of incest enabling the pure act of the creation of nature. “Frig” implies the sensual idea of masturbation while the rise of mandrakes represents rural life; the last line brings the concept of intercourse and the pastoral sky together to merge both views. St. James’s Park should act as an escape from the hardships of living in a fast, complex world, but only falls to the influences of the polluted city. By playing with the two sides of the park(the romantic and the sexually depraved(Rochester is capable of forming a descriptive picture topped off with vile acts. Rochester continues to describe the attractions of the park: And nightly now beneath their Shade, Are Bugg’ries, Rapes, and Incests made, Unto this All-sin-sheltering Grove (ll. 23-25) In the preceding passage, he mimics the beauty of the park to cover the vulgarity in the passage above the same way those pastoral features hide such sinful acts from the public. There is irony in this passage, though, due to the fact that the park has already been exposed to such ugly acts in which nature cannot conceal from the rest of the city. On the surface, the park seems to model the landscape of the countryside as it is engulfed by the city, but in reality the park has become as corrupt as London. The last line expresses the devastating influence London has on the park by the urban minds stemming from the “All-sin” and the park acting as the “sheltering Grove.” Since the libertarian view of urban society is merging into the pastoral way of life, Rochester displays this in his verse by having the terms appear in the same line with hyphens separating them and pulling them together at the same time. Lines 27-32 further represent the dichotomy seen in “A Ramble in St. James’s Park” by listing the different walks of life that flock from the city to the park to abuse the pastoral setting as a secluded location to secretly commit devious acts. All sorts of people ranging from “Great Ladies” to “Divines” to “Pimps” to “Poets” travel to the park not for a pastoral escape from the pressures of complex society, but to commit lustful deeds in the midst of nature. This trend continues with Corinna as she seduces three men to satisfy her desire for pleasure. The first consists of “Affectation” and “Rote” (ll. 58 and 61) which permeates falsehood of character and impurity(two characteristics of an urban mind. Rochester goes on to state how the second man is not seeking courtship either, but is determined to steal hander kerchiefs and “hints” (l. 66) from others to hone his skill in picking up women. And the last gentleman is the least genuine of the three because he steals his act from the other two men. Copying the way others act in order to gain sexual experiences is not a pure sense of self, so that is not a pastoral trait, but an urban thought interacting among other collective, complex ideas. Many motives of sexual desire are pursued within the confines of the park, even though they do not abide by the concept of a pastoral lifestyle. Throughout the poem “A Ramble in St. James’s Park,” the urban complexities of life in London pour into St. James’s Park and drastically change the purpose of its existence. The park promotes a pastoral way of looking at life: pure, simple, and secluded. It is meant to serve the people of the city as an escape from their busy lives to catch a glimpse of the beauty of nature. Unfortunately, the sexual liberation and public spiral of a complex, urban environment like London spill into the park and substitute ideas such as courtship and privacy with public demonstrations of sexual ambition. With allusions to the combinations of incest and nature(sex and seclusion(Rochester is able to describe the interwoven relationship between a complex urban area and a simple pastoral landscape.