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Elegy written in a country churchyard — Thomas Gray
Elegy written in a country churchyard — Thomas Gray
The theme of death in Victorian poetry
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Thomas Gray had a tough childhood. As a young man, he suffered through terrible heartaches. Because of this, Gray turned to writing to ease the pain. Death and its problems were the main topic in most of his poems. As a writer, Thomas Gray inspired other people to think about their emotions and death with his poem, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.”
Thomas Gray’s poetry was called Pre-Romantic poetry which put a focus on nature and the life of common people.1 The subjects of death, suicide, and physical decay have always been on people’s mind. During Gray’s time, sadness was a popular theme.2 People were facing difficulties such as war and disease. Thomas Gray captured the emotions of people perfectly with his poems.
When he was younger, Thomas Gray lived his mother and aunt in the village of Stoke Poges. Stoke Poges was the place where he decided to write poetry.3 He would take long walks through fields and other places. He would remember everything he saw.4 The church and the graveyard were two places that stood out to him.5 This inspired him to write the poem, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.”
Thomas Gray was also inspired by nature. He knew that nature could help someone deal with pain. Nature can soothe and fix any sadness we have. The scenery and beauty of nature helped him write the poem.6 There was something calming and comforting about nature that helped Gray. However, He also felt angst and a burden in his life.7 He felt tragedy as he walked through the churchyard.8
Even though Gray was inspired by his surroundings and nature, death had a major influence on “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” There were two major deaths in his life that affected his poetry. One of the deaths was his aunt. His aun...
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...etic Strain: The Greater Lyric in the Eighteenth Century. Chicago: Chicago, 1984. 108
23. Ketton-Cremer, R.W. 139
24. Gray, Thomas. “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” 576
25. Gray, Thomas. “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” 579
26. Gray, Thomas. “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” 579
27. Gray, Thomas. Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. xiv
28. Starr, Hebert W. 33
29. Starr, Hebert W. 33
30. Gray, Thomas. “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” 576
31. Gray, Thomas. “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” 576
32. Gray, Thomas. “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” 579
33. Ketton-Cremer, R.W. 139
34. Golden, Morris. 70-72
35. Starr, Hebert W. 85
36. Golden, Morris. 70
37. Golden, Morris. 73
38. Ellis, Frank H. Gray's Elegy: The Biographical Problem in Literary Criticism. Vol. 66. PMLA, 1951. 971
39. Ketton-Cremer, R.W. 139
My initial response to the poem was a deep sense of empathy. This indicated to me the way the man’s body was treated after he had passed. I felt sorry for him as the poet created the strong feeling that he had a lonely life. It told us how his body became a part of the land and how he added something to the land around him after he died.
In literature, themes shape and characterize an author’s writing making each work unique as different points of view are expressed within a writing’s words and sentences. This is the case, for example, of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” and Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” Both poems focus on the same theme of death, but while Poe’s poem reflects that death is an atrocious event because of the suffering and struggle that it provokes, Dickinson’s poem reflects that death is humane and that it should not be feared as it is inevitable. The two poems have both similarities and differences, and the themes and characteristics of each poem can be explained by the author’s influences and lives. “Although Emily Dickinson is known as one of America’s best and most beloved poets, her extraordinary talent was not recognized until after her death” (Kort 1).
Sherwood, Terry G. "Kesesy, Ken." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Carolyn Riley. Vol. 1. Detrot: Gale, 1973. 167. Print.
I will discuss the similarities by which these poems explore themes of death and violence through the language, structure and imagery used. In some of the poems I will explore the characters’ motivation for targeting their anger and need to kill towards individuals they know personally whereas others take out their frustration on innocent strangers. On the other hand, the remaining poems I will consider view death in a completely different way by exploring the raw emotions that come with losing a loved one.
Romantics often emphasized the beauty, strangeness, and mystery of nature. Romantic writers expressed their intuition of nature that came from within. The key to this inner world was the imagination of the writer; this frequently reflected their expressions of their inner essence and their attitude towards various aspects of nature. It was these attitudes that marked each writer of the Romantic period as a unique being. These attitudes are greatly reflected in the poem “When I Heard the Learned Astronomer” by Walt Whitman.
Part I is particularly anecdotal, with many of the poems relating to the death of Trethewey’s mother. The first part begins with an epitaph from the traditional Wayfaring Stranger, which introduces the movement of the soul after death, and the journey towards the ‘home’ beyond. In “Graveyard Blues”, Trethewey examines the definition of “home” as a place of lament, in contrast to the comforting meaning in the epitaph beginning Part I, and the significance of the soul’s movement after death. The ‘home’ described in the epitaph is a place of comfort and familiarity, where the speaker returns to their mother. In contrast, Trethewey describes the ‘home’ she returns to after her mother’s death as a hollow place, the journey back to which is incredibly
While Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" overtly deals with the distinction between social class and the opportunity for greatness, the poem also contains a subtle yet strong message against the dominant role of men over women in society. Gray's tone throughout the poem is permeated with regret and a sense of something lost, voicing his opinions clearly against social class prejudice. This emotional tone, when applied to the stereotypical roles of differing sexes discussed throughout the poem, portrays the injustice of inequality between males and females.
The two poems, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, by Dylan Thomas and, “Because I Could Not Wait for Death”, by Emily Dickinson, we find two distinct treatments on the same theme, death. Although they both represent death, they also represent it as something other than death. Death brings about a variety of different feelings, because no two people feel the same way or believe the same thing. The fact that our faith is unknown makes the notion of death a common topic, as writers can make sense of their own feelings and emotions and in the process hope to make readers make sense of theirs too. Both Dickinson and Thomas are two well known and revered poets for their eloquent capture of these emotions. The poems both explore death and the
The speaker started the poem by desiring the privilege of death through the use of similes, metaphors, and several other forms of language. As the events progress, the speaker gradually changes their mind because of the many complications that death evokes. The speaker is discontent because of human nature; the searching for something better, although there is none. The use of language throughout this poem emphasized these emotions, and allowed the reader the opportunity to understand what the speaker felt.
Many people find it hard to imagine their death as there are so many questions to be answered-how will it happen, when, where and what comes next. The fact that our last days on Earth is unknown makes the topic of death a popular one for most poets who looks to seek out their own emotions. By them doing that it helps the reader make sense of their own emotions as well. In the two poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickenson and “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas, the poets are both capturing their emotion about death and the way that they accepted it. In Dickenson’s poem her feelings towards death are more passionate whereas in Dylan’s poem the feelings
When discussing the different aspects of New Criticism in Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do Not Go Gentle into The Good Night”, the impression that comes to mind is death. The use of imagery was a necessity for Dylan Thomas to express the different techniques of writing which involved a mixture of surrealistic and metaphysical tones. His ability to change a words meaning to incorporate symbolism is noticeable in circle of unity from life to death and renewed life.
Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden is a short poem that illustrates the emotions that he is dealing with after the love of his life passes away. The tone of this piece evokes feelings that will differ depending on the reader; therefore, the meaning of this poem is not in any way one-dimensional, resulting in inevitable ambiguity . In order to evoke emotion from his audience, Auden uses a series of different poetic devices to express the sadness and despair of losing a loved one. This poem isn’t necessarily about finding meaning or coming to some overwhelming realization, but rather about feeling emotions and understanding the pain that the speaker is experiencing. Through the use of poetic devices such as an elegy, hyperboles, imagery, metaphors, and alliterations as well as end-rhyme, Auden has created a powerful poem that accurately depicts the emotions a person will often feel when the love of their live has passed away.
In conclusion, Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” uses symbolism and dubbal entendre throughout the poem to convey the inevitability of death, mourning, conflict within self, finding virtue in one’s life, dealing with one’s misfortunes and giving recognition to those who would otherwise seem insignificant to those of greater statures.
Losing a loved one is one of the hardest experiences every person must go through. The experience does not end with the loss though, but begins with it. The loss of a dear person leads those left behind into a downward spiral of emotions and memories. A poem entitled “Lucy Gray” by William Wordsworth focuses on that loss and the emotions that follow it. By reading the poem one can objectively experience both the grief that Lucy Gray’s death brings on but also her parents’ acceptance of her death.
Throughout Emily Dickinson’s poetry there is a reoccurring theme of death and immortality. The theme of death is further separated into two major categories including the curiosity Dickinson held of the process of dying and the feelings accompanied with it and the reaction to the death of a loved one. Two of Dickinson’s many poems that contain a theme of death include: “Because I Could Not Stop For Death,” and “After great pain, a formal feeling comes.”