186 Poetry for Students

Taylor underscores the inherent tension in the

speaker’s voice. This tension is underscored by the

repeated use of the speaker’s rhetorical question,

“How would it be?” Rhetorical questions are ques-

tions used for effect and are not asked in order to

be answered.

Historical Context.

In 1980 Americans elected as president Ronald

Reagan, a conservative Republican and former ac-

tor best known for his strident anti-communism and

telegenic presence. Reagan appealed to both tradi-

tional conservative Republicans as well as work-

ing-class Democrats, who saw in him a no-non-

sense leader committed to limiting the federal

government’s interference with state government

and the individual. Republicans also captured con-

trol of the Senate for the first time since 1952. The

economic policies of Reagan’s administration,

sometimes derisively called “Reaganomics,” in-

cluded massive tax cuts, which in turn led to a bal-

looning federal budget deficit. The administration

acted to speed up deregulation of such industries

as airlines, banking, and domestic oil production to

foster competition and lower prices for consumers.

Claiming that federal programs for the needy

sapped their initiative, Reagan instituted “welfare

reform.” In 1984 the country re-elected Reagan,

who soundly defeated Walter Mondale and his run-

ning mate, Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to

be nominated for a national office by a major party.

Though Taylor wrote and published the poem

in the 1980s, the event on which “Landscape with

Tractor” is based occurred in the late 1960s or early

1970s, according to the poet. However, it wasn’t

Taylor who found the body on his land, but an em-

ployee of Taylor’s father who worked on the

Taylor family farm. Until this day, the woman’s

identity remains unknown, as do the exact circum-

stances of her death. Taylor recalled hearing the

story from his father while he was still teaching at

the University of Utah, where he was on the fac-

Landscape with Tractor

Compare

&

Contrast

• 1985:Cellular phones are introduced into auto-
  mobiles.
  Today:Due to the increase in accidents caused
  by people driving while talking on their cellu-
  lar phones, some states and cities are consider-
  ing making it a crime to drive and talk.


• 1970:The rate for murder and non-negligent
  manslaughter in the United States is 7.9 per one
  hundred thousand people.
  1980:The rate for murder and non-negligent
  manslaughter in the United States is 10.2 per one
  hundred thousand people.
  1990:The rate for murder and non-negligent
  manslaughter in the United States is 9.4 per one
  hundred thousand people.
  1995:The rate for murder and non-negligent
  manslaughter in the United States is 8.2 per one
  hundred thousand people.
  
  
  • 1980:A mentally ill fan, Mark Chapman, fatally
    shoots former BeatleJohn Lennon outside his
    apartment in New York City.
    1981:A mentally ill man, John Hinkley, Jr.,
    shoots President Reagan and three others. All
    survive.
    1995:Former football star, O.J. Simpson is ac-
    quitted after being accused of murdering his
    wife, Nicole Simpson, and her friend. The trial
    is marked by racial tension.
  
  
  • 1980:Reagan names Elizabeth Dole as his Sec-
    retary of Transportation.
    1984:Walter Mondale names Geraldine Ferraro
    as his running mate for president of the United
    States, the first time a woman is nominated for
    a national office by a major party.
    1999:Elizabeth Dole runs in the presidential pri-
    maries, faring poorly before she bows out.