By Katelyn Swanson

Throughout his poem, Thomson goes back and forth in describing the idea of locus amoenus. Some examples of this can be seen in lines 911-913, in which Thomson is describing how the natural landscape of Hagley Park can be used for relaxation purposes: “You silent steal; or sit beneath the shade of solemn oaks, that tuft the swelling mounts thrown graceful round by Nature’s careless hand…” (39). This can also be seen in lines 443-479, in which Thomson describes two different examples of locus amoenus, one on the bank of a body of water and the other reclining under the shade of a tree. The language in this section crafts an image of a scene that has been allowed to grow and spread naturally, unabated by human interference. This suggests that Thomson views locus amoenus as a place that hasn't been cultivated by humans. Thomson also discusses in this section how creations from the human mind, such as paintings and writing, cannot compare to the inherent beauty of nature. To Thomson, locus amoenus cannot be captured and/or conveyed by human creations. While these sections of his poem fit into locus amoenus, other sections seem to describe the complete opposite of a pleasant place. In the beginning of the poem, as Thomson details the transition between the harshness of winter to the pleasantness of spring, we can see how he moves from the opposite of locus amoenus into a pleasant place, as he then emphasizes the restoration of life that spring brings with it.

As we can see in Thomson’s writing through his use of vivid descriptions of pastoral landscapes, there is a distinct connection between the arts and nature; Thomson uses specific elements such as ‘rolling hills’ and ‘serene river’ to reflect the classical paintings of the countryside. A home or other building’s landscape was just as important as the decorations inside the house, with many homes and buildings being designed around the landscape. However, there was a delicate balance in landscape between the garden and the wilderness. The juxtaposition of these two ideas can be seen in Giorgione’s (or Titian’s) Le Concert Champetre, in which the artist includes “several carefully planned oppositions” (Landscape 67) An example of this can be seen in two scenes in the background of the painting. On the right, a shepherd and his flock are shown in a more pastoral setting, with a low stone wall. In the middle, the background image is an elegant house on a hill, overlooking the rest of the scenery. These scenes are a great example of the juxtaposition of the cultivated garden vs. the unkempt wilderness. The connection between the shepherd’s flock to the group of men and women on the hill is another example of these oppositions, as the shepherd closely interacts with nature and, in turn, gains a larger understanding of it, the group of men and women have inserted themselves within the landscape in order to appreciate the domesticated and natural scene. These two aspects go hand in hand—the shepherd tames nature while the men and women admire the domestication of the natural world which is typical of the idea of locus amoenus (Andrews 65).