Lightning strikes virtuous shepherds in the middle of summer

The poem Spring by James Thomson tells the love story of Celadon and Amelia, two Arcadian shepherds whose virtue is destroyed by lightning. This dramatic scene inserted by the poet in the heart of summer recalls divine power and the impossibility for man to understand the designs of God. The young couple is presented there as a biblical prototype reminiscent of Adam and Eve according to the analysis of James Sambrook.