Elegy written in a Country Churchyard: Analysis

                                                 

Thomas Gray was the dominant poetic figure in the mid-18th century and a precursor of the Romantic movement. He was born in 1716 in Cornhill, London. He was a poet and professor who is well-known for the poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. The poem was inspired by the sudden passing of his friend Richard West.

He entered Cambridge in 1734, although he didn’t much care for the studies. Rather, he preferred to spend his time reading and playing music. It was at Cambridge that he developed friendship with Horace Walpole who would later help him get his works published. In 1757, he was offered the post of Poet Laureate, which he refused. In 1768, Gray was offered the post of professor of modern history at Cambridge, a position that he held for just three years.  He died in 1771 at the age of 54. He was buried alongside his mother in the churchyard of St Giles’ church in Stoke Poges.  Because of the serious and morose nature of some of his poetry, Gray became known as the “Graveyard Poets”.  Although he is best known for the ‘Elegy’, The Progress of Poesy and The Bard are his other important literary works.  

 

About the Poem

 

Thomas Gray’s ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard’ is one of the most well-known poems about death in English literature.  It was published in 1751. It is a reflective poem where Gray meditates on the life of man in relation to his inevitable end. Here, the poet celebrates the virtues of the common people. It is believed that Gray wrote this poem to commemorate the death of his friend Richard West who died in 1742. The place is the cemetery of a church.

The central idea of the poem is that Death is a great equalizer. Death does not spare even the great and the mighty.  The poem is universally seen as the highest achievement of eighteenth-century Classicism, as well as a major precursor and inspiration to the style of Romanticism. The poem was composed at the end of the Augustan era and the beginning of the Romantic era, and therefore it has features related to both the Ages. 

For Stanza Wise Explanation of the the Elegy, Click Here

Analysis

 “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” presents the omniscient speaker who talks to the reader. At the start of the poem, we find the speaker standing alone near a graveyard and contemplating about life and death. The speaker contemplates about the dead people buried in the graveyard.  The speaker mourns the death of ordinary and unknown people. He reminds the reader that each one of us will die one day. Death is inevitable in our life. If a man dies today, tomorrow a stranger will see the person’s tombstone. Out of curiosity, he would like to inquire about the person buried in the graveyard. Someone from the village would reply that he knew the man. He would further say that he had seen him while he was working in the field or walking in the street. One day he might say that he had stopped seeing the man, and then there was the tombstone.

Towards the end of the poem, the poet writes his own epitaph. He says that his life is full of sadness and depression. However, he takes pride in his knowledge. He further contemplates that ‘No one is perfect in this world.’ So, he asks the readers not to judge anyone in the graveyard on the basis of his wealth or power.  Each and every soul is different and everyone must die. Wealth and power cannot provide immortality. Death does not spare even the wealthy and the powerful. Power and riches lead but to the grave. Therefore, one must remain humble and sympathetic towards ordinary people. One must not take pride in his wealth, power or fame.

The poet concludes the elegy by saying that death is an inevitable.  With death, all our struggles to get success in life comes to an end.  Thus, death conquers everyman without considering his successes or failures during his life.

 

Themes

 

Death and the transitory nature of life are the major themes of this poem. The poem provides various images pointing out the contrast between life and death. It speaks about the common men who remain unknown during their life, and after death they are forgotten. The poet asks us not to look down upon the ordinary villagers. Though they are not rich and famous, they are honest and dutiful. They perform their duties honestly and lead a simple life. But nobody remembers them once they die. They are forgotten and remain unsung. Their graves are simple and do not attract our admiration. So to honor and remember the poor villagers, the poet writes this elegy.

 

The poem treats death as   an equalizer. Death does not make any distinction between rich and poor. It does not discriminate on the basis of wealth, fame or power. Every individual is equal before death. No wealth, fame or power can bring back the dead to life. Therefore, the poet asks us not to take pride in wealth, fame or power.   Even poor and humble rustics deserve respect and sympathy after their death. Had they got opportunities, they would also have become wealthy, famous or powerful during their life. The poet refrains from glorifying the virtues of the wealthy and famous because they enjoyed fame while they were alive.

The Poem as an Elegy

 What is an Elegy

Though the poem was written to commemorate the death of  Gray’s friend Richard West, it expresses grief over death in general. Here the poet reflects upon death, the sorrows of life, and the mysteries of human life with a touch of his own personal melancholy. It deals with the theme of death and the transitory nature of all worldly glory and human achievements.

The tone, mood and atmosphere of the poem is serious and meditative right from the beginning.  It is evening time and the farmers and the shepherds are returning to their homes. As the poem opens, the speaker is seen at the churchyard; he hears the usual evening sounds. The church bell is ringing. The shepherds and their cattle are returning home after the day’s work. The atmosphere is subdued and melancholic. Darkness and silence fill the place. The only sound that is heard is that of the beetles and of the moping owls. The poet now passes on to describe the churchyard which is dotted with elm trees and where most of the tombs have crumbled down. The speaker stands in the graveyard and contemplates about the dead villagers who are silently sleeping in their graves.

After  describing the serious, gloomy and sorrowful atmosphere of the place, the poet goes on to tell about the  lives of the ordinary villagers who now sleep in the graveyard, each in his narrow cell. The lamentation deepens as the poet points out that they will not wake up to the breezy call of the fragrant morning or the shrill clarion of the cocks. They were common villagers who worked in the field, collected firewood, and tended cattle. Their joys were homely, their destiny was obscure. No grandeur they had and their life was short and simple, poor men as they were. The poet, however, suddenly becomes philosophical and glorifies the poor villagers in the following words:

 

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,

All that beauty, all that wealth ever gave;

They pass on to the inevitable hour,

The paths of glory lead but to the grave.