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Elegy Written in A Country Churchyard
Elegy Written in A Country Churchyard
ENGLISH POET
Thomas Gray, (born Dec. 26, 1716, London—died July 30, 1771, Cambridge,
Cambridgeshire, Eng.), English poet whose “An Elegy Written in a Country
Church Yard” is one of the best known of English lyric poems. Although his
literary output was slight, he was the dominant poetic figure in the mid-18th
century and a precursorof the Romantic movement.
Born into a prosperous but unhappy home, Gray was the sole survivor of 12
children of a harsh and violent father and a long-suffering mother, who
operated a millinery business to educate him. A delicate and studious boy, he
was sent to Eton in 1725 at the age of eight. There he formed a “Quadruple
Alliance” with three other boys who liked poetry and classics and disliked
rowdy sports and the Hogarthian manners of the period. They were Horace
Walpole, the son of the prime minister; the precocious poet Richard West,
who was closest to Gray; and Thomas Ashton. The style of life Gray
developed at Eton, devoted to quiet study, the pleasures of the imagination,
and a few understanding friends, was to persist for the rest of his years.
In 1742 Gray settled at Cambridge. That same year West died, an event that
affected him profoundly. Gray had begun to write English poems, among
which some of the best were “Ode on the Spring,” “Sonnet on the Death of Mr.
Richard West,” “Hymn to Adversity,” and “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton
College.” They revealed his maturity, ease and felicity of
expression, wistful melancholy, and the ability to phrase truisms in striking,
quotable lines, such as “where ignorance is bliss, ’Tis folly to be wise.” The
Eton ode was published in 1747 and again in 1748 along with “Ode on the
Spring.” They attracted no attention.
It was not until “An Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard,” a poem long in
the making, was published in 1751 that Gray was recognized. Its success was
instantaneous and overwhelming. A dignified elegy
in eloquent classical diction celebrating the graves of humble and unknown
villagers was, in itself, a novelty. Its theme that the lives of the rich and poor
alike “lead but to the grave” was already familiar, but Gray’s treatment—which
had the effect of suggesting that it was not only the “rude forefathers of the
village” he was mourning but the death of all men and of the poet himself—
gave the poem its universal appeal. Gray’s newfound celebrity did not make
the slightest difference in his habits. He remained at Peterhouse until 1756,
when, outraged by a prank played on him by students, he moved to Pembroke
College. He wrote two Pindaric odes, “The Progress of Poesy” and “The
Bard,” published in 1757 by Walpole’s private Strawberry Hill Press. They
were criticized, not without reason, for obscurity, and in disappointment, Gray
virtually ceased to write. He was offered the laureateship in 1757 but declined
it. He buried himself in his studies of Celtic and Scandinavian antiquities and
became increasingly retiring and hypochondriacal. In his last years his peace
was disrupted by his friendship with a young Swiss nobleman, Charles Victor
de Bonstetten, for whom he conceived a romantic devotion, the most profound
emotional experience of his life.
2. Early life
fifth of 12 children
The only child of Philip andDorothy Gray to surviveinfancy.
He lived with his motherafter she left his abusivefather.
3. Education
Educated at Eton College where his uncle wasone of the masters.
A delicate and scholarly boy who spent histime reading and avoiding
athletics
Three close friends at Eton: HoraceWalpole, son of the Prime Minister
RobertWalpole; Thomas Ashton, and Richard West
In 1734 , went to Peterhouse,Cambridge Left without a degree Receipt
of legacy from his paternal aunt meantthat he had no urgent need to find a
job
4. Poetry
1745 (29) his friendship with Walpolewas renewed
Walpole admired his poetry andpersuaded him to publish
1747 (31) – Ode on a Distant Prospect ofEton College, Ode on Spring ,
Ode onthe Death of a Favourite Cat , Drownedin a Tub of Goldfishes
His ELEGY ON A COUNTRY CURCHYARDTOOK HIM 9 YEARS
BEFORE IT WASPUBLISHED. FROM 1742 (26)- 1751 (35)
1757 – The Bard and the Progress ofPoesy
Norton Nicholls – his love interest . Anundergraudate wose knowledge
ofDante impressed him.
1751- Journey among te English Lakes
1768 (52) – Fatal Sisters, The Descent ofOdin and The Triumphs of Owen
5. Last Years
• 1751 – He proposed to visitBonstetten in Switzerland duringthe summer
but was struck by asudden illness and died after afew days
• He was buried in St. Gileschurchyard in Stoke Poges nectto his mother
7. Summary
It was an evening time. The poet is standing in the church yard. The
ringing of a curfew bell is heard. A herd of cattle from pasture started
returning home. Farm workers, after hard work, started going homes,
indicating that the activities of day time are drawing to a close. The poet is
then left alone to contemplate the isolated rural scene. The poet sets a
melancholy atmosphere by describing the ringing of curfew bell in somber
tone. The curfew bell does not simply ring; it "knells"—a term usually
applied to bells rang at a death or funeral. From the very beginning, Gray
reminds us of human mortality.
9. Even those noises are feeble, showing that the beetle and Cattle are tired.
There is indeed one sound which is not―drowsy‖. The sound of an owl
hooting intrudes upon the evening quiet .The hooting of the moping Owl
appears that it complains to the moon that the poet is trying to destroy her
ancient solitary reign.
11.12. ThemeIt mourns the death not of great people but of common men and
meditates on the nature of human mortality. That in death there is no
difference between great and common people if among the lowly people
buried in the churchyard there had been any natural poets or politicians
whose talent had simply never been discovered or nurtured
12.13. Elements
classical elements
use of alternately quatrains of iambic pentameters already present in
Dryden
use of abstract personifications (ambition, grandeur etc.)
universality of themes (death, obscurity, contentment, etc.)
idyllic view of country life excessive time required to polish each
stanza, thus excluding immediacy of inspiration
clear influence of poetic classics such as Dante (opening lines); Lucrezius
(stanza 6);Petrarch(ending)
13.14. Graveyard Poetry A type poetry presenting melancholic reflectionon
morality, framed innarratives involving visits tograveyards and other
reminders of death. One ofthemost celebrated examples of this type ofverse
is Thomas Gray’s Elegy Written in aCountryChurchyard. With its personal
and introspectiveconcerns, such verse hasbeen seen as significantas part of a
transitional phase between publiclyfocusedneoclassical verse and
Romanticlyricism, but it is of interest not only as a stepping-stone in literary
history. Involving a focus uponloss, and with extensive analyses offeelings,
suchverse played a part in the wider culture ofsensibility.
14.15. Meter and Rhyme SchemeGray wrote the poemin four-line stanzas
(quatrains)Each line is in iambicpentameter Each line has five pairs of
syllables for a total often syllables In each pair, the first syllable is
unstressed (orunaccented), and the second is stressed (oraccented), as in the
two lines that open thepoem:.......The CUR few TOLLS the KNELL of
PARTing DAY.......The LOW ing HERD wind SLOWly OERthe LEA
.......In each stanza, the first line rhymeswith the third and the second line
rhymes withthe fourth (abab), as follows
15.16. The speaker uses sad diction and symbolssuch asowl, death, grave,
sleep also, the owlsymbolizes death. The setting The time is themid 1700s,
about a decade before theIndustrial Revolutionbegan in England. Theplace is
the cemetery of a church. Evidenceindicates thatthe church is St. Giles, in
thesmall town of StokePoges, Buckinghamshire, insouthern England.Gray
himself is buried in that cemetery.William Penn, thefounder ofPennsylvania,
once maintained a manorhouse at Stoge Poges.
16.17. Figures of SpeechAlliteration Repetition Plowman homeward plods his
weary way(line 3) The cocks shrill clarion, or the echoinghorn (line 19)
Nor cast one longing, lingring lookbehind? (line 88) Now drooping, woeful
wan, like oneforlorn (line 107) Or crazd with care, or crossd in
hopelesslove. (line 108)
17.18. MetaphorFull many a gem of purest ray serene,Thedark unfathomed
caves of ocean bear .Full many a flowr is born to blushunseen,And waste its
sweetness on thedesert air. (lines 53-56) - Comparison ofthe dead village
people to gems andflowersOr heap the shrine of Luxury andPrideWith
incense kindled at the Musesflame.
18.19. MetonymyUse of a word or phrase tosuggest a related word or
phraseTo scatter plenty o’er a smilinglandLand stands for people.
19.20. Personification Let not Ambition mock their useful toil Their
homelyjoys, and destiny obscure ; Nor Grandeur hearwith a disdainful smile
. The short and simpleannals of the poor. (lines 29-32) Ambition and
Grandeur take on humancharacteristics. But Knowledge to their eyes
herample page Rich with the spoils of time did neerunroll (line 49-50)
Notice that Knowledge becomes a person, afemale. Fair Science frown’d not
on his humblebirth, And Melancholy mark’d him for her own.(lines 119-
120)
Recommended
1st
1. - The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
2. The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea,
3. The plowman homeward plods his weary way,
4. And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
2nd
5. - Now fades the glimm'ring landscape on the sight,
6. And all the air a solemn stillness holds,
7. Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight,
8. And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds;
3rd
9. - Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tow'r
10. The moping owl does to the moon complain
11. Of such, as wand'ring near her secret bow'r,
12. Molest her ancient solitary reign.
4th
13. - Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade,
14. Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap,
15. Each in his narrow cell for ever laid,
16. The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.
5th
17. - The breezy call of incense-breathing Morn,
18. The swallow twitt'ring from the straw-built shed,
19. The cock's shrill clarion, or the echoing horn,
20. No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed.
6th
21. - For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn,
22. Or busy housewife ply her evening care:
23. No children run to lisp their sire's return,
24. Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share.
7th
25. -Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield,
26. Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke;
27. How jocund did they drive their team afield!
28. How bow'd the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!
8th
29. Let not Ambition mock their useful toil,
30. Their homely joys, and destiny obscure;
31. Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile
32. The short and simple annals of the poor.
9th
33. -The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,
34. And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
35. Awaits alike th' inevitable hour.
36. The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
10th
37. -Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault,
38. If Mem'ry o'er their tomb no trophies raise,
39. Where thro' the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault
40. The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.
11th
41. -Can storied urn or animated bust
42. Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath?
43. Can Honour's voice provoke the silent dust,
44. Or Flatt'ry soothe the dull cold ear of Death?
12th
45. -Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid
46. Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire;
47. Hands, that the rod of empire might have sway'd,
48. Or wak'd to ecstasy the living lyre.
13th
49. But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page
50. Rich with the spoils of time did ne'er unroll;
51. Chill Penury repress'd their noble rage,
52. And froze the genial current of the soul.
14th
53. Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
54. The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear:
55. Full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen,
56. And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
15th
57. Some village-Hampden, that with dauntless breast
58. The little tyrant of his fields withstood;
59. Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest,
60. Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood.
16th
61. Th' applause of list'ning senates to command,
62. The threats of pain and ruin to despise,
63. To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land,
64. And read their hist'ry in a nation's eyes,
17th
65. Their lot forbade: nor circumscrib'd alone
66. Their growing virtues, but their crimes confin'd;
67. Forbade to wade through slaughter to a throne,
68. And shut the gates of mercy on mankind,
18th
69. The struggling pangs of conscious truth to hide,
70. To quench the blushes of ingenuous shame,
71. Or heap the shrine of Luxury and Pride
72. With incense kindled at the Muse's flame.
19th
73. Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife,
74. Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray;
75. Along the cool sequester'd vale of life
76. They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.
20th
77. Yet ev'n these bones from insult to protect,
78. Some frail memorial still erected nigh,
79. With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture deck'd,
80. Implores the passing tribute of a sigh.
21st
81. Their name, their years, spelt by th' unletter'd muse,
82. The place of fame and elegy supply:
83. And many a holy text around she strews,
84. That teach the rustic moralist to die.
22nd
85. For who to dumb Forgetfulness a prey,
86. This pleasing anxious being e'er resign'd,
87. Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day,
88. Nor cast one longing, ling'ring look behind?
23rd
89. On some fond breast the parting soul relies,
90. Some pious drops the closing eye requires;
91. Ev'n from the tomb the voice of Nature cries,
92. Ev'n in our ashes live their wonted fires.
24th
93. For thee, who mindful of th' unhonour'd Dead
94. Dost in these lines their artless tale relate;
95. If chance, by lonely contemplation led,
96. Some kindred spirit shall inquire thy fate,
25th
97. Haply some hoary-headed swain may say,
98. "Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn
99. Brushing with hasty steps the dews away
100. To meet the sun upon the upland lawn.
26th
101. "There at the foot of yonder nodding beech
102. That wreathes its old fantastic roots so high,
103. His listless length at noontide would he stretch,
104. And pore upon the brook that babbles by.
27th
105. "Hard by yon wood, now smiling as in scorn,
106. Mutt'ring his wayward fancies he would rove,
107. Now drooping, woeful wan, like one forlorn,
108. Or craz'd with care, or cross'd in hopeless love.
28th
109. "One morn I miss'd him on the custom'd hill,
110. Along the heath and near his fav'rite tree;
111. Another came; nor yet beside the rill,
112. Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he;
29th
113. "The next with dirges due in sad array
114. Slow thro' the church-way path we saw him borne.
115. Approach and read (for thou canst read) the lay,
116. Grav'd on the stone beneath yon aged thorn."
THE EPITAPH
1st
117. Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth
118. A youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown.
119. Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth,
120. And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.
2nd
121. Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere,
122. Heav'n did a recompense as largely send:
123. He gave to Mis'ry all he had, a tear,
124. He gain'd from Heav'n ('twas all he wish'd) a friend.
3rd
125. No farther seek his merits to disclose,
126. Or draw his frailties from their dread abode,
127. (There they alike in trembling hope repose)
128. The bosom of his Father and his God.
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by
Thomas Gray: Summary and Analysis
Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is composed in quatrains,
where the first line rhymes with the third, and the second with the fourth.
Elegiac poetry is mostly written in abab form. The last three stanzas of the
poem have been written in italic type and given the title "The Epitaph".
In the next four stanzas (lines 13 to 28), some important images and
symbols are presented: the strength of the elms, the graves as death, and
the comfort provided by the yews shading bodies that sleep. Here the
speaker reveals the simple life of the lower class people who wakes up at
the song of birds and enjoys hard work. For them the death means the end
of the simple pleasures of the life.
In the next four stanzas (lines 29 to 44), the speaker tells the upper class
people who are ambitious, have majesty, supremacy, aristocracy, and
pride, not to mock at the poor people for their simplicity. He put his idea of
death so easily and convincingly that ultimately it does not matter what
splendor they attain or how decorative a gravestone they will have, they will
die just like the poor.
The lines from 45 to 76 offers the fundamental message of the poem: all
the people, even the poor are born with the equal natural capacities. If they
are given suitable opportunity and encouragement, then they too can prove
themselves as better as the upper class.
Full many a gem of purest ray serene, The dark unfathomed caves of
ocean bear: Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its
sweetness on the desert air.
In lines 77 to 92, the speaker is touched by the shared humanity of the poor
people. He shows the beauty in the misspelled inscriptions in the
tombstone, some unpolished and consoling biblical verses and poorly
decorated shapeless sculpture.
Lines 93-116 are transition to the next six stanzas where it seems that Gray
is addressing himself when he writes: For thee, who mindful of the
unhonoured dead, Dost in these lines their artless tale relate, If chance, by
lonely contemplation led, Some kindred spirit shall inquire thy fate.
The last three stanzas is the epitaph (lines 117 to 128) of the poem. Here,
the poet declares his grave is upon the lap of earth. He justifies his life as
worthwhile as he was generous and sincere. He concludes his epitaph by
stating the reader not to ask anything more about the poet’s vice and
virtues but leave it to God.
The poet reflects in the village cemetery on the graves of the humble and
poor in its generalizing treatment of traditional themes and in the
representative images evoking the country scene. The verse is beautifully
adapted to this generalizing manner which consequently does not attract
the charge of insincerity sometimes made against 18th century poems of
this kind.
The simple and slow-moving stanza form is here handled with great skill.
The poem opens effectively by gradually emptying the landscape of both
sights and sounds as dusk descends, and the elegiac, meditative tone is
sustained throughout a variety of turns in the thought. It is in the tradition of
graveyard contemplation, but here the handling of the setting and of the
development of the meditation is done with high art. The poem moves with
ease from a contemplation of the landscape to a consideration of 'the short
and simple annals of the poor' to suggest moral ideas which arise from this
consideration. The alternation between generalized abstractions and
individual examples is adroitly done, and the whole poem gives a sense of
personal emotion universalized by form. There was in fact a deeply
personal feeling behind it, and it was not all written at one time, which
accounts for the somewhat unexpected turn the poem takes as it moves to
its conclusion. The poet turns to address himself in the twenty-fourth stanza
and to move the poem round until it reveals his own epitaph, and this
involves a certain break in the continuity which is never wholly justified by
the development in the tone or the structure.
1. Gist of the poem
The speaker is hanging out in a churchyard just after the sun goes down.
It's dark and a bit spooky. He looks at the dimly lit gravestones, but none of
the grave markers are all that impressive—most of the people buried here
are poor folks from the village, so their tombstones are just simple, roughly
carved stones.
The speaker starts to imagine the kinds of lives these dead guys probably
led. Then he shakes his finger at the reader, and tells us not to get all snobby
about the rough monuments these dead guys have on their tombs, since,
really, it doesn't matter what kind of a tomb you have when you're dead
But that gets the speaker thinking about his own inevitable death, and he
gets a little freaked out. He imagines that someday in the future, some
random guy (a "kindred spirit") might pass through this same graveyard, just
as he was doing today. And that guy might see the speaker's tombstone, and
ask a local villager about it. And then he imagines what the villager might
say about him.
At the end, he imagines that the villager points out the epitaph engraved
on the tombstone, and invites the passerby to read it for himself. So
basically, Thomas Gray writes his own epitaph at the end of this poem.
1. knell
the sound of a bell rung slowly to announce a death
2. lea
a field covered with grass or herbage and suitable for grazing by
livestock
3. plod
walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
4. low
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
5. lull
make calm or still
6. bower
a framework that supports climbing plants
7. molder
decay or break down
8. yew
evergreen tree or shrub having red cup-shaped berries
9. rude
belonging to an early stage of technical development
10. hamlet
a community of people smaller than a village
11. clarion
loud and clear
12. hearth
an open recess in a wall where a fire can be built
13. sire
the male parent of an animal, especially a domestic animal
14. oft
many times at short intervals
15. furrow
a long shallow trench in the ground
16. glebe
plot of land belonging to an English parish church or an
ecclesiastical office
17. jocund
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
18. grandeur
the quality of being magnificent or splendid
19. annals
a chronological account of events in successive years
20. heraldry
the study, design, and classification of coats of arms
21. pomp
cheap or pretentious or vain display
22. impute
attribute or credit to
23. fretted
having frets
24. urn
a large vase that usually has a pedestal or feet
25. celestial
relating to or inhabiting a divine heaven
26. lyre
a harp used by ancient Greeks for accompaniment
27. ample
more than enough in size or scope or capacity
28. penury
a state of extreme poverty or destitution
29. genial
diffusing warmth and friendliness
30. serene
not agitated
31. dauntless
invulnerable to fear or intimidation
32. Milton
English poet
33. Cromwell
English general and statesman who led the parliamentary army
in the English Civil War (1599-1658)
34. circumscribe
draw a geometric figure around another figure
35. ingenuous
lacking in sophistication or worldliness
36. ignoble
dishonorable in character or purpose
37. sequestered
kept separate and secluded
38. nigh
near in time or place or relationship
39. uncouth
lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
40. implore
beg or call upon in supplication
41. elegy
a mournful poem; a lament for the dead
42. strew
spread by scattering
43. pious
having or showing or expressing reverence for a deity
44. wonted
commonly used or practiced; usual
45. kindred
group of people related by blood or marriage
46. haply
by accident
47. hoary
having gray or white hair as with age
48. swain
a young male suitor
49. noontide
the middle of the day
50. pore
any tiny hole admitting passage of a liquid
51. yon
distant but within sight (`yon' is dialectal)
52. rove
move about aimlessly or without any destination
53. wan
deficient in color suggesting physical or emotional distress
54. forlorn
marked by or showing hopelessness
55. rill
a small stream
56. dirge
a song or hymn of mourning as a memorial to a dead person
57. lay
put into a certain place or abstract location
58. epitaph
an inscription in memory of a buried person
59. recompense
make payment to
60. abode
any address at which you dwell more than temporarily
61. bosom
breast