Gezicht op een weidelandschap te Cumnor before 1912

This is Henry Taunt's photograph "Gezicht op een weidelandschap te Cumnor" (View of a meadow landscape at Cumnor). Though undated, Taunt worked during a time of great change in England, capturing rural life as industrialization altered the landscape. The photograph is paired with the poem "Thyrsis," an elegy for a lost friend, written by Matthew Arnold. We are invited to consider the intertwined themes of loss, memory, and the changing rural landscape. How does the poem interact with Taunt's photography? Cumnor, with its fields and farms, becomes more than just a place; it is a symbol of youthful strength and virtue, juxtaposed with the melancholy of lost friendship. The poem speaks of a "stormy note" learned from "men contention-tost," suggesting a loss of innocence and a confrontation with harsh realities. This intersection of personal grief and societal change invites reflection on our own experiences of loss and transformation.