Table of Contents
What is the main message of Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard?
The main message of “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is that death renders all humans equal, no matter their respective roles in life. As the speaker muses on the ordinary folk buried in the eponymous churchyard, he reflects that they now occupy the same status as the great figures who overshadowed them in life.
How does the speaker in Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard mourn the death of the poor?
The speaker asks that we remember him for being generous and sincere. His generosity was, in fact, his willingness to mourn for the dead. Because he was so generous, the speaker reasons, heaven gave him a “friend”—someone who would, in turn, mourn for him after his death.
What is the significance of the epitaph in Gray’s elegy?
The significance of the epitaph is that Gray is writing his own epitaph. He’s reflecting on his own death that obviously hasn’t happened yet. That’s a bit morbid in my opinion, but his lament is a fairly uplifting account of his life.
How does Gray describe country life in his elegy?
How does Gray describe country life in his elegy? In his poem, Gray suggests that country folk be remembered and appreciated. “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” was among the first poems to provide a realistic portrayal of the countryside.
Why is Thomas Gray important?
Thomas Gray was one of the most important poets of the eighteenth century. This scholar and poet was the most famous for his poem “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” Thomas Gray was born on December 26, 1716 in London. He was the only child in his family of eight to survive infancy.
What is Gray’s attitude toward death in Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard?
In “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” Thomas Gray’s attitude toward death at first is that everyone faces the same end, regardless of their social standing or sense of importance: The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
Why does Thomas Gray mourn over the deaths of his villagers?
In the final lines, Gray contemplates the possibility of his own death, and thus ends with the implication that in mourning for the people buried in the country graveyard, he is also mourning for the death that awaits both himself and his readers.
How does Gray glorify the simple villagers?
65—75) Ans: In these lines from Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, the poet reflects upon the past ways of life of the simple peasants of the village. He glorifies the simple ways of their life in opposition to the ways of the rich who want to live with fortune and fame.
What is Gray’s attitude toward people buried in the cemetery toward rich toward the poor?
attitude toward rich and poor is an attitude of equality in the final analysis.
Why is Thomas Gray considered a pre romantic?
Gray is regarded by many as a “pre-Romantic” because his poetry signals a shift from the characteristics of the Augustan age with its public focus, heroic couplets, and satire to the Romantic age with its focus on private thoughts, lyrical poems with alternating rhyme schemes, and exploration of the self.
Who inspired Thomas Gray?
On 26 December 1754, aged 38, he sent “The Progress of Poesy” to Thomas Wharton. “The Bard” was partly written in the first three months of 1755, and finished in May 1757, when Gray was inspired by a concert given at Cambridge by John Parry, the blind harper.
How does Gray glorify common man in his poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard?
In the famous poem “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” Thomas Gray glorifies common men by making them equal to men who once had possession of power and heraldry. Gray points out that in death, there is no difference between the poor and the wealthy.