Topographical Poetry - Subgenre: The Prospect Poem

Subgenre: The Prospect Poem

John Wilson Foster defines the term "prospect" in the poetic understanding of spatial and temporal meanings:

"A prospect is a view into the distance (space); it is also a view into the future (distance in time), often with the suggestion of opportunity or expectation: in each case, a prospect is a view of something beyond, yet to be achieved or satisfying merely in the spectacle. Understood in both its spatial and temporal senses, the prospect was a frequent culmination of traditional allegory…"

The early topographical poems of the 17th century and 18th century centered on urban locales of power and often described aspects of the city such as buildings, major rivers and parks. Later topographical poems written during the romantic period moved away from cities and into the provinces. Romantic poets also rejected the scientific and informative approach employed by the early topographical poets. Instead of being scientific observers, the romantic poets who wrote prospect poems tried to create a sense of a presence and emotion that gave life to the landscape.

Topographical poetry, especially the prospect poem, moved from the scientific and geographical description to become a venue for personal, historical and meditative thought. Brigitte Peucker describes that "nature in the topographical poem is not a medium of human transcendence or transformation but rather an emblem or mirror of the perambulatory figure in the foreground—of man as man". The prospect when seen through the muse or imagination provides an escape from time and reality. Shifts in tenses are often a regular characteristic of prospect poems.

Charlotte Turner Smith's poem "Beachy Head" is an example of the prospect poem.