SOURCE: Simpson, Arthur L. “Meredith's Alien Vision: ‘In the Woods.’” Victorian Poetry 20, no. 2 (summer 1982): 113-23.
In the following essay, Simpson contends that “In the Woods” is best read as an example of Meredith's earlier, more pessimistic works, rather than as an awkward version of his later philosophy. Simpson suggests that the poem represents a significant transitional phase of Meredith's naturalism.
