ELEGY WRITTEN IN

A COUNTRY
CHURCHYARD

-By Thomas Gray

ABOUT THE POEM:-

• 128 line porm

• It is about the subject of human mortality
• The speaker urges the reader to remember him for his human frailty, that he
is indeed common with everyone
• Poem invokes the classical idea of memento mori, a latin phrase which
states plainly to all mankind “Remember that you must die”.
• In death there is no difference between great and common people
• It idealizes and elevates the common man.
 SUMMARY :-
• 1- it was an evening time, the poet is standing in the church yard the ringing of a
curfew bell is heard. A heard of cattle from pasture started returning homes, including
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 does not simply ring ; it “knells” – a term usually
applied to bells rang at a death as funeral from the very beginning, Gray reminds us of
human mortality.
• 2- there is a tone of sincere melancholy throughout. He started composing the verses of
this poem by bringing before his mind’s eyes, the churchyard at stock-poges. The poem
begins with the description of the church yard at stock-poges towards sunset. He alone
stands by the side of the Graveyards. The curfew or the evening bell warning thr people
to retire to rest has tolled. The farmers is returning home after his day’s work. It is dark
all around and the
 SUMMARY :-
-air itself is silent in a solemn manner without any breeze. The cattle are going homeward
and home is to be seen except the poet standing by the side off thr Graveyards. The whole
atmosphere is serene. Nothing is heard except the hooting of the owl and the drawing
sound of the beetle and tinkling of the bells of the heard in distant folds in the village.
Even those noises are feeble, showing that the beetle and cattle are tired. There is indeed
are onr sound which is not “drowsy”. The sound of an owl hooting intrudes upon the
evening quite. The hooting of the moping owl appears that it complains to the moon that
the poet is trying to destroy her ancient solitary reign.
 SUMMARY :-

• The hooting of owl adds to the gloom, since it appears to complaining about persons
that go hear her lonely living places. There is no companion for the poet at that time
except darkness. In such an atmosphere, the poet is found by himself by the side of the
chrchyard. The melancholy atmosphere is suited to the poem .
 THEME :-
• It mourns the death not of great people but of common men, and meditates on the
nature of human mortality. That is death there is no difference between great and
common people if among the lowly people buried in the Churchyard there had been
any natural poet or politicians whose talent had simply never been discovered or
nurtured.
ELEMENTS :-
• CLASSICAL ELEMENTS
-Use of alternately quatrains of iambic pentameters already present in Dryden
-Use of abstract personifications ( ambition, granders etc.)
-Universality of themes (death, obscurity, contentment etc.)
-Idylic view of country life
-Excessive time required to polish each stanza, thus excluding immediacy of inspiration
-Clean influence of poetic classic such as Dante (opening lines); lucrezius (stanza-6);
GRAVEYARD POETRY :-

• A type poetry presenting melancholy reflection on morality, framed innaratives involving

visits to graveyards and other reminders of death. One of the most celebrated examples of
this type of verse is Thomas Gray’s elegy written in a country church yard with it’s personal
and introspective concern, such verse has been seen as significant as part of a transitional
phase between publicaly focused neoclassical verse and romantic lyricism but it is of
interest not only as a stepping-stone in literary history
Involving a focus upon loss and with extensive analyses offeelings, such verse
played a part in the wider culture of sensibility.
-Meter and rhyme scheme gray wrote the poem in four lines stanza,s (quatrains)