Question

"the law locks up both man and woman who steals the goose from off the common, but lets the greater felon loose who steals the common from the goose." this stanza from oliver goldsmith's deserted village (1770) refers to:

Answer 1

This refers to the Enclosure movement which was prominent in Britain from the 18th century to the 19th century. Enclosure means to divide or consolidate the communal lands and small holding into what we now see as one big farm which was owned by an individual. This meant that the villagers could no longer, as they could before that, use that land to raise livestock among other things.