A poem which celebrates simple country life is___________

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks for the type of poem that celebrates simple country life, meaning shepherds, rural scenery, farming and peaceful living away from the city.

Step 2: Explain the concepts (check each option)

• A. Dirge: A song or poem of mourning, often sung at funerals. It is about death and grief, not country life.
• B. Ode: A long, formal, serious lyric poem addressed to a person, object, or idea in praise of it (e.g., "Ode to a Nightingale"). It praises something, but it is not specifically about rural life.
• C. Epic: A very long narrative poem about the heroic deeds of a legendary hero (e.g., Sundiata, The Iliad). It is about heroism, not simple rural life.
• D. Pastoral: From the Latin pastor, meaning "shepherd." A pastoral poem presents the peaceful, simple, idealized life of shepherds and country people, often with the countryside as the setting. This matches the question exactly.

Step 3: Identify the answer The poem that celebrates simple country life is a pastoral, so the answer is D.

Tip: Link each term to a keyword:

• Pastoral → pasture (fields, shepherds)
• Dirge → death (funeral)
• Ode → obvious praise (addressed to someone or something)
• Epic → epic hero (long, heroic story)