Elegy Written in a

Country
Churchyard
Study Guide by Course Hero

TENSE
What's Inside The poet makes use of several tenses in "Elegy Written in a
Country Churchyard": present to describe the graveyard, past
to describe the dead, and future to imagine later visitors'
j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 thoughts.

d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1 ABOUT THE TITLE

"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" reflects a shift from
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 3
the classical elegiac tradition toward the metaphysical
h Characters .................................................................................................. 4 meditation found in modern elegiac poetry. The speaker,
standing in a country churchyard, memorializes the dead rather
k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 5 than one specific person.

c Plot Analysis ............................................................................................... 6

g Quotes .......................................................................................................... 11
d In Context
l Symbols ...................................................................................................... 12

m Themes ....................................................................................................... 13
The English Elegy
b Narrative Voice ........................................................................................ 14
Traditionally—at least since the 16th century—the English elegy
is a poem written in response to the death of a person or
group of people. It generally consists of three sections. First, it
j Book Basics laments, or mourns, the death. It then eulogizes—or
praises—the person or group. Finally, it expresses consolation,
AUTHOR or comfort. The subject of the elegy may be a well-known
Thomas Gray public figure but might equally be someone the poet has loved,
such as a close friend or family member. (The English elegy
YEAR PUBLISHED contrasts with what is known as an elegy in classical literature
1751 and even modern German literature. In the latter sense, the
word elegy refers to a particular metric structure rather than to
GENRE
the poem's content. A classical elegy might be about the death
Nature, Philosophy, Religion
of hero, but it is just as likely to be about love.)
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR
Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" is not
The poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" is written
a traditional English elegy. It does not eulogize a particular
from the perspective of a speaker who describes the
friend, family member, or public figure. Even though Gray was
churchyard and meditates on the dead buried there and on
probably not yet 30 when he began writing his "Elegy," he had
death itself.
already had a great deal of experience with loss. All his siblings
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide
had died in childhood, and he had recently lost his father and
his closest friend. His understanding of loss is reflected in the
poem. The poem's speaker muses on death's effects on the
living and the dead, considering the deaths of everyday people
rather than of the famous or heroic. Thus, Gray's poem is an
elegy in a looser sense. It is a metaphysical (dealing with the
basic nature of reality and being) meditation on death and
mortality. In this way the poem expands the meaning of the
term elegy. It comes to refer not only to poetry written for a
particular occasion, but also to a style of poetry reflecting a
certain mood. Gray's "Elegy" anticipates—and likely
influences—a more modern interpretation of the elegiac form,
in which poets express a general sense of sorrow or loss
rather than specific, personal grief.
The Graveyard School
"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" belongs to an 18th-
century British pre-Romantic genre known as the graveyard
school. The name is taken from the common elements of the
poems' themes and settings. Graveyards, tombs, nighttime, old
churches, candlelight, night birds, and the dead themselves are
frequent elements, while the process of dying, the pain of
bereavement, and consideration of an afterlife are all common
topics in graveyard poetry. In its settings and themes,
graveyard poetry was a precursor to gothic literature, which
became popular in the latter third of the 18th century, although
the genres differ significantly. Whereas Gothic works
emphasize mystery and horror, graveyard poets tend to take a
spiritual, often consoling approach to their topics. Interestingly,
it was the novel The Castle of Otranto (1764), written by Gray's
friend Horace Walpole (1717–97), that kicked off the Gothic
movement.
In addition to Thomas Gray, there were three other primary
graveyard poets:
Irish writer and scholar Thomas Parnell (1679–1718).
Parnell's "A Night-Piece on Death" (c. 1722) is generally
identified as the first example of graveyard poetry. Its
Christian theme is that death is nothing to be feared but
releases the soul from its earthly prison. The poem
describes the dead rising joyously to "mingle with the blaze
of day."
English writer, literary critic, and clergyman Edward Young
(1683–1765). Young, who also wrote plays, styled his lengthy
"Night Thoughts" (1742–45) as a series of emotional
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In Context 2
dramatic monologues written in blank verse (verse without a
rhyme pattern). Each of its nine sections is labeled a "night."
Young wrote "Night Thoughts" after suffering three
bereavements in less than six years. The poem's speaker
wrestles with the pain of loss and the fleeting nature of
human life. He looks for solace in belief in a benevolent God
and the soul's ultimate immortality.
Scottish poet and clergyman Robert Blair (1699–1746). Blair
is known for one poem—"The Grave" (1743). Its positive
Christian theme is that everyone dies, whether hero or
villain, and then rests until their soul rises to join "its
partner." Then, "Nor time, nor death, shall ever part them
more." However, earlier stanzas of the long poem offer
spooky descriptions of tombs, graveyards, and dead
bodies—just the sort of thing that would later appear in
Gothic tales. Readers recognize the tactics of a minister
who draws in the congregation with storytelling and then
hits them with the lesson at the end of the sermon.
Thomas Gray is perhaps the gentlest of the four poets
discussed here. In "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," he
doesn't rely on spooky imagery or heightened emotions.
Instead, he adopts a melancholy, meditative approach to his
topic. Like Young, Gray writes against the background of his
own experiences of loss. Like Blair, Gray creates an
atmospheric setting yet, unlike him, does not evoke
melodramatic horror in the reader. Gray also recognizes like
Blair that everyone dies, focusing on death as a leveler. Unlike
the other graveyard poets, however, Gray does not create
images of a specific afterlife. Instead, his final lines provide
only a brief hope of lasting peace for the dead youth in "the
bosom of his Father and his God."
Poetic Devices in Gray's
"Elegy"
In "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" Gray creates rich
imagery to evoke the countryside, the churchyard, and the end
of day. To achieve this effect, he uses figurative language:
Allusion. Allusion occurs when an author refers implicitly, or
indirectly, to a historical event, a literary work, a place, or
even a cultural practice. The author does not further explain
the reference and leaves it to the reader to figure out its
relevance. For instance, in "Elegy," Gray refers to three
historical figures associated with the English Civil Wars
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide
(1642–51). All three figures were associated with the fight
against tyranny and the temporary overthrow of England's
monarchy.
Assonance and alliteration. Both assonance and
alliteration describe the repetition of sounds. Assonance is
the repetition of the same vowel sound in words near one
another in a text. Alliteration refers to the repetition of the
same consonant sound at the beginning of words near one
another. The first line of Stanza 25 of "Elegy" reads, "Haply
some hoary-headed swain may say." The /h/ sound occurs
three times in the first three words, producing alliteration.
The same vowel sound (long /a/) occurs in each of the last
three words, producing assonance.
Metaphor. A metaphor makes a comparison between two
otherwise unlike items. Because a metaphor does not
explicitly state that a comparison is being drawn, a
metaphor does not use the word like or as. For example, the
last line of Stanza 13 in "Elegy" says that poverty "froze the
genial current of the soul." Here, Gray creates a metaphor
by suggesting that the current is the soul. "Chill Penury
[poverty]" he explains, stops this "current" by freezing it.
Metaphor is particularly effective because it forces the
reader to think about the two items being compared in new
ways.
Personification. Writing about a concept, animal, or thing as
if it were human is known as personification. In "Elegy" Gray
often personifies concepts. For example, in Stanza 18
"shame" blushes, in Stanza 22 "Forgetfulness" is dumb
(unable to speak), and in Stanza 23 "Nature cries" out using
its "voice."
a Author Biography
Early Life and Education
Thomas Gray was born in London, England, on December 26,
1716. His parents, Philip and Dorothy Gray, had 12 children, but
only Thomas survived infancy. Philip Gray (1676–1741), an
exchange broker—someone who buys and sells money—and
legal clerk, was a brutal husband and a neglectful father.
However, Dorothy Antrobus Gray (1685–1753), a milliner
(maker of women's hats), was loving and attentive.
Through Dorothy's brothers, Gray was accepted into Eton
College—one of England's most prestigious schools—at age
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Author Biography 3
eight. There he developed three close and significant
friendships—one with cleric Thomas Ashton (1716–75), whose
father was a schoolmaster; another with author Horace
Walpole (1717–97), son of England's prime minister; and a final
one with poet Richard West (1716–42), son of a former lord
chancellor of Ireland. The four boys shared an interest in
literature and theater.
In 1734 Gray went to Cambridge University, where he would
eventually teach modern history. He did not take a degree at
Cambridge and instead went on to study law at Inner Temple.
Reluctant Poet
While at Cambridge, Gray began writing poetry, mostly in Latin.
Among his best-known Latin works is "De Principiis Cogitandi"
("On the Origin of Thought"), written in two sections between
1740 and 1742. The first section is dedicated to Richard West;
the second, which is unfinished, laments West's early death
from consumption (likely tuberculosis, a bacterial lung
infection) in June 1742. At 25 Gray had already lost all his
siblings, his father, and one of his dearest friends, Richard
West. Accordingly, his writing reflected a melancholy
awareness of mortality. By this time Gray was also writing in
English. Preferring to share his poetry only with selected
friends, he resisted its publication. His friend Horace Walpole
had several of Gray's poems published anonymously.
Around this time Gray began visiting his maternal family in the
small southeastern village of Stoke Poges, which may have
inspired two of his best-known poems: "Ode on a Distant
Prospect of Eton College" (written 1742, published
anonymously 1747) and "Elegy Written in a Country
Churchyard" (written 1750, published anonymously 1751). The
first reflects on youth and age as the speaker gazes at his
former school. The second is a meditation on death. Its
melancholy lyricism resonated with readers everywhere, and
the poem was an overnight success. In under three months
"Elegy" appeared in five different magazines.
After the publication of "Elegy" Gray could no longer remain
unknown. In 1757 he was offered the position of poet laureate
of England but refused the honor—the first to do so. Still a shy
man, he preferred a private life.
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide Characters 4

Death and Legacy

Thomas Gray died in his professorial quarters at Cambridge on
July 30, 1771, probably of kidney failure, at age 55. He was
buried in his mother's grave in the churchyard at Stoke Poges.

Although Gray published little poetry in his lifetime, "Elegy" had

established him as the foremost English poet of his generation.
Since its publication the poem has inspired other poets to
create responses, imitations, and parodies. In fact, within 80
years of its publication, over 150 imitations and parodies had
been published. Some of the poem's phrases are recognizable
as book and film titles. For example, "far from the madding
crowd" was used by English writer Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)
as the title of his first successful novel, published in 1874. The
poem also popularized some preexisting phrases, such as
"kindred spirit," to the point that they have become elements of
everyday speech.

h Characters

Speaker
The poet/speaker makes no attempt to create a distinct
personality. The speaker's voice is melodious, filling the poem
with many levels of meaning.

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Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide
Full Character List
Character Description
The speaker in Thomas Gray's "Elegy
Speaker Written in a Country Churchyard" is
generally believed to be the poet himself.
In Stanza 6, death keeps the children
from running to their father when he
Children
comes home from work and from sitting
on his lap for a kiss.
Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658), referenced
in Stanza 15, was an English soldier and
statesman. He led forces against King
Charles I (1600–49) during the English
Cromwell Civil War (1642–51) and later led England
to powerful world status. Although he
was a staunch Calvinist (Protestant
Christian), he believed in religious
tolerance.
The speaker uses the dead buried in the
churchyard as a starting point for his
The dead
meditation on death and remembrance
of the dead.
John Hampden (1594–1643), referenced
in Stanza 15, was a member of
Hampden Parliament. He accepted a prison
sentence in 1627 rather than pay taxes
levied by Charles I (1600–49).
In Stanza 6, death keeps the housewife
Housewife
from her evening chores.
John Milton (1608–74), referenced in
Stanza 15, was an English poet. He
Milton opposed the tyranny of Charles I
(1600–49) and the state religion of the
Church of England.
In Greek and Roman mythology, the
Muses are a group of sister goddess
Muse who serve as patrons to the arts. The
speaker references the "Muse's flame" in
Stanza 18.
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Plot Summary 5
As night falls in Stanza 1, the speaker
sees a plowman heading home from the
Plowman fields. The plowman represents all the
living people leading simple lives in and
around the village.
In Stanza 8, the speaker tells Ambition
and Grandeur not to mock the simple
The poor
joys and work of the poor buried in the
churchyard.
In Stanza 4, the forefathers are the
founders of the village, who are now
Rude buried in the churchyard. In this context,
forefathers the word rude may mean "unlearned" or
"inelegant." The founders were simple
people.
In Stanza 6, death separates a father, or
Sire
sire, from his children.
The speaker imagines a "hoary-​headed
swain"—a white-​haired peasant—in
Stanza 25 and what he might say about
the speaker in the future, after the
Swain
speaker's death. The imaginary swain
recalls noticing the speaker's absence
from the village and points out the verse
on his headstone.
In the epitaph, the speaker imagines
himself lying among the dead and the
The youth
verse on his tombstone, which refers to
him as a youth.
k Plot Summary
The poem is written from the perspective of someone visiting a
country churchyard as night falls. While moving among the
headstones, the speaker—generally considered to be the poet
himself—considers death and bereavement.
Stanzas 1–4
The first four stanzas set the scene. It is the end of day, when
the church bell rings the curfew, the cattle in the pasture are
getting sleepy, and the plowman is heading home. Darkness
falls. The only sounds are the buzz of a flying beetle, the
"drowsy tinklings" of distant cowbells, and the hooting of an
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide Plot Analysis 6

owl. Under the trees the speaker can see the mounds of
graves where the village "forefathers ... sleep." The Epitaph
The last three stanzas of "Elegy" suggest the verse that might

Stanzas 5–11 appear on the speaker's headstone. It describes him as a poor,

unknown youth who tended to melancholy. He was generous
and sincere, shed tears, and had "('twas all he wish'd) a friend."
In the next seven stanzas the speaker contemplates the dead.
The last stanza warns anyone reading the headstone not to
In life, they were ordinary people—"obscure" (unknown) and
worry about his other strengths or weaknesses. They rest with
"poor." But their work was "useful," and they enjoyed simple
him on "the bosom of his Father and his God."
things. Yet, simple as they were, those lives are no more. The
speaker reminds the ambitious, the grand, the wealthy, the
powerful, and the revered that death comes to all: "The paths
of glory lead but to the grave." No matter what honors a person c Plot Analysis
has achieved in life, those honors will not prevent death.

Formal Structure
Stanzas 12–19
Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"
The next eight stanzas suggest these people might have lived
seldom strays from a formal poetic structure. The entire poem
great lives under other circumstances. Despite the "celestial
is written in four-line stanzas with an ABAB rhyme scheme.
fire" in their heart or their talent for leadership or music, lack of
This means the first and third lines of each stanza rhyme, as do
education and poverty kept them from realizing their potential.
the second and fourth lines. A perfect rhyme pattern religiously
In the same way, their circumstances prevented them from
followed can create a sort of childish singsong. This is relieved
committing great atrocities or bringing great shame on
through the occasional use of near rhyme. For instance, in the
themselves. Instead, they lived "Far from the madding crowd's
eighth stanza, toil nearly rhymes with smile but not completely.
ignoble strife."
With few exceptions, the rhythm pattern of each line follows
iambic pentameter: each line consists of five two-syllable feet
Stanzas 20–29 with the stress on the second syllable—da DUM. The first line
easily shows this pattern: The CURfew TOLLS the KNELL of
In the next 10 stanzas the speaker considers how even these PARting DAY.
humble dead are memorialized. The verses on the headstones
Iambic pentameter is considered a very natural rhythm for
are "uncouth"; the memorial statues are "shapeless." Still, the
spoken English. Therefore, when the rhythm changes, the
dying need to be remembered. Addressing himself as "you,"
reader's attention immediately notices the change. Poets often
the speaker speculates on how he might be remembered if he
use such changes in rhythm to highlight certain concepts or
lay here among the dead. Someone might say they
emphasize certain sounds. In the last line of Stanza 4, for
remembered seeing him taking early morning walks or napping
example, the second foot identifies the dead buried in the
under "yonder nodding beech" at noon. They might reflect on
churchyard. The primary stressed syllable of forefathers is the
what caused the smiles or frowns that crossed his face. Then,
first one, but it falls on an unstressed syllable in the line. Both
one day he wasn't there, and the next he was buried in the
the first and second syllables of the word forefathers are
churchyard, his headstone "beneath yon aged thorn" engraved
stressed when spoken: The RUDE FOREFAthers OF the
with a verse.
HAMlet SLEEP. The extra stressed syllable call attention to
the word forefathers, which identifies the subject matter of the
rest of the poem. A similar pattern can be seen in the third line
of Stanza 5. Readers cannot help but notice the three stressed
syllables in "The COCK'S SHRILL CLARion." Here, the writer

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Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide
places emphasis on a sound, a "shrill clarion"—piercing
trumpet. Breaking the rhythm pattern makes the line less
regular and soothing. In a sense, it wakes the reader just like a
rooster's crow wakes the living in the morning.
A poem consisting of four-line stanzas, or quatrains, written in
iambic pentameter with an ABAB rhyme pattern is known as a
Horatian ode. Its name comes from the originator of that
structure, the Roman poet Horace (65–8 BCE). This strict form
of stanza was traditionally known as a heroic stanza. Gray's
use of the heroic quatrain in his "Elegy" was so influential that
the form was emulated in elegies for the next century. Because
it was so closely associated with elegies, it became known as
the elegiac stanza.
Setting and Atmosphere
As "Elegy" begins, the speaker stands in a country churchyard.
Although the speaker does not say explicitly that he stands on
a hill, the reader gets the sense from the sensory language of
this higher point of view. The speaker describes how the cattle
"wind slowly" across the meadow and how the plowman "plods
his weary way" home. He describes how the landscape fades
from sight. All this suggests a panorama of the countryside
that slowly disappears as darkness falls. Several sounds in the
poem associate with the end of the day: the curfew bell, a
beetle's drone, the "drowsy tinklings" of the distant herd
settling in to sleep, and the "moping" hoot of an owl, for
example. The atmosphere imparted by the slow coming of
darkness and the soft sounds intermittently breaking the air's
"solemn stillness" resists the Gothic setting. The mood in the
churchyard is melancholic—tinged with contemplative sadness.
Yet, a sense of peace in keeping with the speaker's
observation accompanies this setting and mood, as the dead
sleep "each in his narrow cell." The word cell evokes the image
of monks in a monastery; monks' small, private bedrooms are
called cells.
It is worth noting how Gray's words echo Thomas Parnell's "A
Night-Piece on Death." Parnell described the graves of the
poor this way: "Those graves ... / That nameless heave the
crumpled ground, / Quick to the glancing thought disclose /
Where Toil and Poverty repose." Scholars generally believe
that Gray had his fellow graveyard poet's verse in mind when
beginning "Elegy."
The fall of darkness at the end of day creates a metaphor for
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Plot Analysis 7
the fading of light for a dying person. (A metaphor is a figure of
speech that draws a similarity between two otherwise
unrelated things.) Similarly, the evening falls quiet just as the
sounds of life still as a dying person goes to what is often
called their eternal rest. In the churchyard, both the speaker
and the dead are at peace. The dead pose no threat, and the
speaker feels no fear.
The setting and atmosphere of the first four stanzas contrast
sharply with the life once led by the dead, as described in the
next three stanzas. Suddenly, the air is not still. It is full of
motion—"breezy"—and scents—"incense-breathing." The
morning is full of sound, too—birds' calls and the horns blown
by herders. In the cottages, fireplaces blaze, wives bustle
about, and children hurry to greet their fathers. Gray manages
to impart a lot of information and description in few words. For
instance, the children no longer "lisp their sire's return, / Or
climb his knees the envied kiss to share." The word lisp recalls
the sound of children's voices, especially those of young
children, as they greet their father, and "envied kiss" depicts
childish rivalry for his affection. The fathers themselves have
been busy harvesting grain, plowing the parish fields, and
chopping down trees. The lives pictured in these stanzas are
active, filled with work and simple, homey pleasures.
The poet intensifies the mood in each grouping of stanzas by
employing sounds. In the first four stanzas, many words
contain vowels produced at the back of the mouth, often called
"dark" vowels, such as the sounds in oh and ah. Repeating the
same vowel sound in words near one another is known as
assonance. In Stanza 1 alone, there are dark vowels in the
words toll, parting, lowing, slowly, plowman, homeward, plods,
and darkness. This assonance of dark vowels makes the mood
more solemn and peaceful.
In Stanzas 5 through 7, Gray also uses assonance. However,
here he uses "bright" vowels—vowels produced at the front of
the mouth. In Stanza 5, the following words contain bright
vowels: breezy, incense-breathing, twitt'ring, built, shed, shrill,
bed. These couple with repetitions of a certain type of
consonant known as a stop or plosive. These consonants form
by stopping the airflow with the lips, teeth, and/or tongue and
then releasing it in a sort of explosion. They may be voiced
(where the voice is heard) or voiceless (where the sound is
made only by the stopping and/or release of air). For example,
in "breezy call" the first word begins with the voiced plosive
/b/, and the second begins with the voiceless plosive /k/.
When consonant sounds are repeated in nearby words, it is
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide
called consonance. In Stanza 5, there are some good examples
of consonance:
the four occurrences of the voiceless plosive /t/ in the
second line: "twitt'ring" (two) and "straw-built" (two)
the four occurrences of the voiceless plosive /k/ in the third
line: "cock's" (two), "clarion" (one), and "echoing" (one)
The use of bright vowels and plosives gives the words a lively,
cheerful effect, magnifying the shift in mood.
Great Lives, Humble Lives
Traditionally, poetic elegies are written to commemorate
famous people, such as great leaders, war heroes, and royalty.
In his "Elegy," Thomas Gray writes about unknown villagers and
peasants. They are the humblest residents of the parish.
Anyone of note, such as a local landowner, would have been
buried inside the church, likely with an expensive monument to
mark as a memorial. Beginning in Stanza 8, Gray defends the
humble lives of the dead. In one of the most enduring lines of
the poem, he points out that—great or humble—everyone dies:
"The paths of glory lead but to the grave." What's more, it
makes no difference what memorials are raised above the
tombs of the great or if "anthem[s]" are sung in their honor.
Neither honor nor flattery will bring them back to life. Death is
the great leveler, making all people the same.
Gray then goes on to suggest that even in life any differences
between the great and the humble are accidents of birth. In
Stanza 12, he uses language that other poets might have used
to describe great men. For instance, "Some heart once
pregnant with celestial fire" describes potential, not deeds.
Continuing his pregnancy metaphor, the heavenly flames are
never actually born. In the following stanza, Gray lays the
blame for this unrealized potential on two factors. The first is
lack of education: "Knowledge to their eyes her ample page / ...
did ne'er unroll." The second is poverty, which "repress'd their
noble rage, / And froze the genial current of the soul." Here he
uses personification, describing knowledge and penury
(poverty) as if they are people. Knowledge didn't open "her"
books to the villagers. Penury kept them from exploring or
expressing their feelings and talents. Gray is describing the
effects of the division between social classes—one of the
themes of the poem. This division results, Gray says, in many
people living and dying whose abilities are never recognized:
"Full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen, / And waste its
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Plot Analysis 8
sweetness on the desert air."
In Stanzas 15 and 16, Gray offers specific visions of what the
village dead might have achieved in life. He alludes to three
specific English historical figures considered champions
against tyranny. They are associated with the English Civil
Wars, during which British king Charles I was captured, tried
for treason, and executed. These three men are the following:
John Hampden. Hampden was a member of Parliament
who went to prison in 1627 rather than pay taxes levied by
the Charles I. Hampden held that only Parliament had the
right to levy taxes. After his release he continued to serve in
Parliament and to oppose the king's policies. He was killed
during the civil war while serving as a colonel in the
Parliamentary forces.
John Milton. Milton remains one of England's most
important poets. In his writings, he spoke out against
tyranny and in favor of freedom of religion. When, after the
death of Charles I, the English Commonwealth was
established, Milton served as its secretary of foreign
tongues. It was his job to translate and reply to letters from
foreign countries and to write about and defend
commonwealth policies. After the monarchy was restored in
1660 and Charles II (1630–85) ascended the throne, Milton
was arrested. Despite his role in the commonwealth
government, he was released. He went on to publish his
History of Britain (1670) and his most famous poetic works:
Paradise Lost (1667), Paradise Regained (1671), and Samson
Agonistes (published with Paradise Regained in 1671).
Oliver Cromwell. As a member of Parliament, Cromwell
championed freedom of religion and opposed the
dominance of the established Church of England. He was an
officer in the Parliamentary forces during the wars against
Charles I. He sought (and failed) to find a solution that did
not involve Charles's execution. Roughly four years after
Charles was beheaded, Cromwell accepted the role of lord
protector of the Commonwealth. In 1657 Cromwell was
asked to become king but refused.
By naming these three British heroes, Gray asks his readers to
recall a time of war. Although each man can be seen as a hero,
he can also be seen as a cause of much suffering. In Stanzas
17 through 19, Gray points out the potential heroes buried in
the churchyard had no chance to cause suffering: "their crimes
[were] confin'd." In their village and on their farms, they were
"far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife" and therefore
"never learn'd to stray."
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide Plot Analysis 9

Remembering the Dead Transitional Poem

It is up to the living, Gray says, to remember the dead, no
matter how humble. He recognizes the various symbols of
remembrance in the churchyard: memorials, names engraved
on headstones, and "many a holy text." They may not be
examples of fine art or the product of learning, but they remind
passersby to offer the "tribute of a sigh." Gray's
contemporaries would have been familiar with the simple
headstones and statues typical of a country churchyard. It is
likely they had relatives buried in such a churchyard and would
one day themselves be buried there as well. This was true of
Gray, as well. The poem is believed to refer to the churchyard
at Stoke Poges, where Gray himself was later buried in his
mother's grave. Therefore, these simple symbols of
Thomas Gray has been called a transitional poet because his
writing had qualities of both neoclassicism and Romanticism.
"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" presents a good
example of this transition. Neoclassical poets believed poetry
should comply with certain structural laws. This can be seen in
the poem's strict patterns of rhyme and rhythm, which follow
the structure of the Horatian ode. Each stanza has just four
lines of iambic pentameter in an ABAB rhyme scheme. Another
common feature of neoclassicism was imitation. Thus, when
Gray imitates Parnell's "A Night-Piece on Death," he is also
following neoclassical tradition.
On the other hand, Gray in "Elegy" also foresees Romanticism.

remembrance would have been very familiar to his audience. Romanticism arose in England in the late 18th century and
dominated the early 19th century. English Romantic poets such
The speaker finally imagines how he himself might be as William Wordsworth, John Keats, and Percy Bysshe Shelley
remembered after his own death. He doesn't expect to be embraced nature, imagination, the individual, and the
praised as a great man. Instead, he imagines someone who expression of feelings. Shelley in particular championed social
sometimes noticed him in the area enjoying nature—the dawn, justice. Gray also focuses on these concepts in his "Elegy."
the woodlands, the babbling brook. This person perhaps
recognized that he experienced ordinary emotions—"scorn,"
sorrow, worry, "love." In this way, the speaker identifies himself
as one with the humble people buried around him. However,
the speaker is generally thought to be the poet, and Gray was
not a field laborer. He was a Cambridge don (professor) and a
recognized scholar and poet. Yet, he felt more commonality
with the humble than with the great.

In his imagined epitaph at the end, Gray sees himself as

someone who has died young, like his closest friend, Richard
West. "Elegy" was begun soon after West died of tuberculosis,
and in Stanza 30 Gray seems to blend his own imaginary death
with West's. In Stanza 31, however, he seems to reference
being reunited with West when he speaks of how the dead
"youth" will gain a friend in heaven. The epitaph implies that
these are the things that matter for every person: to have
experienced human emotions and to have known friendship.
They are what should be remembered. All other "merits" and
"frailties" can be buried with the dead. They are no longer the
concern of the living, but only of God.

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Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide Plot Analysis 10

Plot Diagram

Climax

Rising Action 4 Falling Action

6
3

2 7
1
Resolution
Introduction

Falling Action
Introduction
6. He imagines how he might be recalled after death.
1. The speaker stands in a country churchyard at dusk.

Resolution
Rising Action
7. He imagines the verse on his headstone.
2. He watches as the countryside readies for night.

3. He considers the simple lives of the village's dead.

4. He reflects on how everyone dies, great or humble.

Climax

5. As death approaches, he thinks, all hope to be remembered.

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Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide Quotes 11

"Can storied urn or animated bust

g Quotes
/ Back to its mansion call the
"The curfew tolls the knell of fleeting breath?"
parting day ... The plowman — Speaker
homeward plods his weary way, /
And leaves the world to darkness No matter how famous or powerful someone was, the speaker
says, death will claim them. Regardless of what trappings of
and to me." glory are displayed on the grave, they cannot bring the dead
back to life.
— Speaker

Stanza 1 sets the scene: nightfall in the countryside. The day's

"Full many a flow'r is born to blush
work is done, and the peasants head home. The sensory unseen, / And waste its sweetness
details allow the reader to sense what it would be like to stand
with the speaker in the churchyard and watch dusk turn to on the desert air."
night. The words toll and knell already introduce the theme of
death. — Speaker

Being born peasants, with no money and no opportunity to

"Each in his narrow cell for ever become educated, means the village dead could not realize

laid, / The rude forefathers of the their potential. It's impossible to know who among the dead
might have been a great leader or a great artist. The speaker
hamlet sleep." uses the metaphor of a flower "born" in the desert to express
this. The flower is never smelled because the climate is
— Speaker uninhabitable. Moreover, it cannot fully bloom without water.

Here the speaker introduces the main topic of "Elegy": the

humble dead. They have gone to sleep eternally, however, not
just for the night.
"The paths of glory lead but to the
grave."
— Speaker
Having described how ordinary the lives of the churchyard
dead were, the speaker compares them with the lives of great
men. Then he makes clear that both the humble and the great
must die. Death makes them equal.
"Far from the madding crowd's
ignoble strife, / Their sober wishes
never learn'd to stray."
— Speaker
The speaker has pointed out that the humble dead could not
realize their potential for greatness because of their social
class. Now he finds some benefit in this. At least, he says, they
were unable to do great harm or commit great crimes.
Because they were so far removed from the centers of power,
they never learned to want for more. Therefore, they never
learned to hurt others to fulfill their ambitions.

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Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide Symbols 12

"Their name, their years, spelt by from their dread abode ... The
th' unletter'd muse, / The place of bosom of his Father and his God."
fame and elegy supply."
— Speaker

— Speaker
The epitaph on the speaker's imaginary headstone asks
passers-by not to look too far into his "merits" and "frailties."
In the churchyard each headstone just states the name and
Those, he says, should remain buried with him in the grave.
"years" (birth and death) of the person buried in that grave.
They are now God's business and no one else's.
These fill the "place" that would be filled by fame and elegy on
a famous person's memorial. Their name and years are the
only thing the poor have to memorialize them.

l Symbols
"On some fond breast the parting
soul relies, / Some pious drops the Nightfall
closing eye requires."

— Speaker Thomas Gray begins his "Elegy" by describing nightfall. This

gentle image, however, is also a symbol of death; as nightfall
indicates the end of day, death indicates the end of life. The
In these lines the speaker reflects on each person's need to be
details in the first few stanzas paint an accurate and charming
remembered. They hope to remain in the heart of a loved one
picture of the end of day in the country. A herd of cattle
and to be mourned.
prepares for sleep, the plowman heads home, and darkness
descends. The world becomes quiet. However, this is not just
the end of day. In the first line the curfew bell "tolls the knell of
"One morn I miss'd him on the parting day," like a bell rung at a funeral. Then, in the last lines
of Stanza 4, the reader learns that the peasants have not just
custom'd hill, / Along the heath
gone to sleep for the night. Instead, the village "forefathers"
and near his fav'rite tree." sleep in their graves.

— Swain

The Grave
The speaker imagines what some local person might say about
him if he died. The "swain" might remember him as someone
who enjoyed long walks in nature and miss seeing him in his
Gray talks about the grave many times throughout his "Elegy."
accustomed haunts. This addresses the notion that each
He talks about it not as something frightening, but as a symbol
person wants to be remembered.
of death, the great equalizer. In Stanza 4 a grave is a monastic
"cell" where the dead sleep. Death, he points out in Stanza 9, is
inevitable: "The paths of glory lead but to the grave."
"No farther seek his merits to
The graves of the great are decorated with urns and statuary,
disclose, / Or draw his frailties
as he points out in Stanza 11. Yet, the graves of the poor
around him are also decorated. In Stanza 20 Gray mentions a

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Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide
"frail memorial ... / With uncouth rhymes and shapeless
sculpture deck'd." In the next stanza he describes the
headstones, which state the names and years of the dead. He
notes "many a holy text ... / That teach the rustic moralist to
die." These decorations and headstones would appear to be
symbols of remembrance, but each is also a reminder of
human mortality, or memento mori. Memento mori is a Latin
phrase meaning "remember you must die." Reminders of death
were commonly carved into headstones in the churchyard and
into statuary on the tombs of the powerful. The most common
was a skull.
m Themes
Death
Gray introduces this theme in the title of his poem. An elegy,
after all, is a poem written to commemorate the dead.
However, an elegy traditionally memorializes a great leader, a
hero, a monarch, or some other notable who has died. Gray's
focus, in contrast, is on the "rude forefathers" of a small
country village buried in the local churchyard. He makes clear
that death does not discriminate between the great and the
humble. Everyone dies, regardless of their status or
accomplishments.
This theme is developed most clearly in Stanzas 9 through 11.
Gray points out that nobility, power, beauty, and wealth are no
protection against death. It is still "inevitable": "the paths of
glory lead but to the grave." What's more, the praise heaped on
the glorious dead—such as memorials or commemorative
songs or statuary—makes no difference. The dead remain
dead. Neither honor nor flattery will bring them back to life.
Death, Gray shows, is the ultimate leveler, making everyone
equal in the end.
Social Class and Opportunity
Gray points out that being born as peasants in a farming
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Themes 13
community prevented the humble dead from having the
opportunity to develop their innate abilities. He develops this
idea in Stanzas 12 through 14. Among the dead might be ones
whose hearts burned "with celestial fire" or whose hands "the
rod of empire might have sway'd, / Or wak'd to ecstasy the
living lyre." But they did not become saints, leaders of the
nation, or great artists because they do not have access to
knowledge. Instead, they are held back by poverty. To support
this notion, Gray alludes to three particular historical figures
from the time of the English Civil Wars: John Hampden, John
Milton, and Oliver Cromwell. All three opposed tyranny and
championed freedom of religion. Gray suggests some among
the dead might have done the same had they had the chance.
However, the English Civil Wars were also a time of great
bloodshed for the nation. Gray suggests the Cromwell buried
here (not Oliver Cromwell) is "guiltless of his country's blood."
Those who do great deeds, he points out, can also do great
wrong. Thus, the accident of birth that kept these peasants
from becoming great men also prevented them from
committing great crimes. They were born and died "far from
the madding crowd's ignoble strife." As a result, they "never
learn'd to stray."
Importance of Love
Despite their humble lives, the dead enjoyed simple pleasures
while alive. One of these is the love of their families. Gray
describes the lives the dead once led in Stanza 6. One clear
image is of children greeting their father when he came home
from the fields. They would "climb his knees the envied kiss to
share"—vying for his affection. This lively picture of family life is
full of joy. Similarly, the epitaph, which speaks for the dead
youth buried there, says heaven sends recompense for the
youth's generosity ("bounty") and sincerity. This recompense is
friendship. Thus, Gray identifies family and friends—both
simple pleasures—as the greatest joys in life.
After a person's earthly life, these loved ones will remember
them and grieve them. Gray considers this in Stanzas 22 and
23, saying the dying person looks back on life with "longing."
The "parting soul relies" on the love in "some fond breast" and
"requires" a few tears. It is only natural, Gray says, to want to
be remembered by loved ones.
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Study Guide Narrative Voice 14

poetic device Gray uses to enrich meaning. He also uses

b Narrative Voice allusion to great effect. Simply by dropping the name
Cromwell—a reference to Oliver Cromwell—Gray evokes
The speaker in Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country notions of heroic struggle against tyranny and ethical
Churchyard" does not work to create a distinct voice. Rather, leadership and contrasts that with the unknown Cromwell in
the speaker's voice is melodious, imbuing the poem with many the graveyard. At the same time, however, the name recalls the
levels of meaning. tribulations of war during Parliament's overthrow of King
Charles I. Through word choice, metaphor, and allusion, Gray
The structure of "Elegy" reflects poetic conventions of the day. often uses one word to suggest many ideas.
Gray follows the convention of a Horatian ode, typified by four-
line stanzas written in iambic pentameter and following an
ABAB rhyme scheme. Thus, the last word in the first line
rhymes with the last word in the third line. Similarly, the last
words in lines 2 and 4 rhyme. Iambic pentameter means that
each line consists of five two-syllable feet that follow an
unstressed-stressed pattern. Thus, da DUM would be one
iambic foot. This strict pattern required some words to be
shortened to fit the metrics (rhythmic pattern). Thus, in Stanza
1 over becomes "o'er." In the second glimmering becomes
"glimm'ring." The apostrophe indicates a syllable has been
dropped to force the word to conform to iambic pentameter.
This results in a very natural sounding, very melodic poem. The
patterns soothe and heighten the contemplative mood.

Gray's use of vowel and consonant sounds intensifies this

mood. He uses "dark" vowels—vowels produced at the back of
the mouth—in Stanza 1, for instance, to create a solemn
atmosphere. There are dark vowels in the words toll, lowing,
slowly, plowman, homeward, and darkness. In Stanza 5 he uses
"bright" vowels—vowels produced in the front of the mouth—to
produce a lighter mood when describing the morning. Consider
the "bright" vowels in the words breezy, incense-breathing, and
twitt'ring, for instance. Gray's repeated use of the sounds /t/
and /k/ in the second and third lines of that stanza provide a
sense of activity through their staccato sound. This keeps with
the idea of starting the day.

Gray's word choice allows him to pack large amounts of

information into the narrowly defined metric and rhyme
patterns. In the first line, for example, when the curfew bell is
rung to send people home, it does not just ring the curfew.
Instead, it "tolls the knell." A knell is rung for a funeral, and toll
indicates a particularly solemn sound. Thus, in just one line
Gray describes the formal end of day and introduces the
concept of the end of life. In this way he also signals his use of
nightfall as a metaphor for death. A metaphor is a poetic
device that implies—rather than stating explicitly—a similarity
between otherwise unlike things. Metaphor is not the only

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