Analysis Of Elegy Written In A Churchyard

1054 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The.essay.of.elegy.wrgtten.in.a.country.churchyard.by.thomas.gray

Elegy Written in a Churchyard:

An Analysis on the Messages Presented in This Title

Thomas Gray wrote his literary work entitled, “Elegy Written in a Churchyard” in 1750. The narrator in this story sits nexts to a church yard and just observes. This was close to the Age of Science and Reasoning, which in other words means that people were challenging reason and logic. Therefore, Gray came up with many messages to portray in this piece of work. In “Elegy Written in a Churchyard” written by Thomas Gray, the narrator observes that death is something that will affect everyone no matter what, that those whom are in the lower class have less opportunities than others, and the virtue and purity of those who work and live as farmers.

The
Those who worked on the farms and lived in the villages, they were far from the temptations and evils that were in the city and court. The narrator points this out in these lines, “Far from the madding crowd 's ignoble strife, Their sober wishes never learn 'd to stray; Along the cool sequester 'd vale of life They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.” As a result of their distance from the city and the upper class, the villagers and farmers lived more virtuous lifestyles and had high morals than those who lived in the cities did. Clearly, Gray also portrays the message that those who were buried in the churchyard led very virtuous lifestyles compared to those who lived in the
This piece of literature points out very good points of the differences between those in higher classes compared to those in lower classes. When this was written, most poets were transitioning into the Age of Science and Reason, therefore they were becoming up with more thoughts and ideas about logic and reason; the way things work. Gray shows this through the messages that he portrays in his “Elegy Written in a Churchyard” which are: death affects everyone despite their lifestyle, that those whom are in the lower class have less opportunities than others, and the virtue and purity of those who work and live as

Show More
Related

  • Atrocities in Stafford's Traveling Through the Dark

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    While the poem's situation is simple, its theme is not. Stafford appears to be intimating that life is precious and fragile; however, nothing so clearly discloses these attributes of life as confrontation with death. Furthermore, the very confrontations that engender appreciation of life's delicacies force action-all to frequently callous action.

    Read More

  • Foreshadowing and Flashback in The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even from the first paragraph, Hurst's use of vocabulary evokes an emotional response to the story line. His word choice as the narrator describes his surrounding and hints to a fatal event that awaits the reader's attention. Hurst uses words and phrases such as “dead autumn,” “rotting brown magnolia,” “graveyard flowers.” The last sentence, “...speaking softly the names of our dead” adds one final melancholy statement (91). The imagery throughout the paragraph helps to imagine an eerie swamp land surrounded by death and depressing memories. This melancholy setting foresha...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Edgar Allen Poe's The Premature Burial

    306 Words  | 1 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe's story, The Premature Burial, explores the narrator's concern of being buried alive. The theme is that you simply will overcome your fears as long as you do not target the dark and dreary things in life. Throughout the complete story, the talker is consumed by his fears. He has catalepsy, that could be a wellbeing within which the person cannot move or speak. This condition will last from hours to months. The talker doesn't need to be alone however he doesn't need to be around folks as a result of he's afraid that they're going to suppose that he's dead. "No event is so terribly well adapted to inspire complete distress, as is burial before death." The talker goes through different incidents of individuals being buried alive

    Read More

  • The Valley of the Ashes in the Great Gatsby

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    The valley is described as a “desolate” place where “ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills into grotesque gardens”. (21) Ashes that dominate the area take the shape of natural greenery. The term “grotesque gardens” uses alliteration, with juxtaposition; to highlight the odd pairing of ashes and greenery. Ashes are associated with death while ridges and “gardens” represent the potential to flourish and grow in the promise and ideal of equality as in “the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams.” (143) The trees that once stood here were able to speak to man’s dreams, which allude to America, the land able to speak to man’s dreams and capacity for wonder. All this is replaced by grey ash that suffocates the inhabitants, restricting them to their social class. This presents a bleak image of hopelessness that surrounds the valley.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poes The Premature Burial

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    The writing style of Edgar Allan Poe shows the writer to be of a dark nature. In this story, he focuses on his fascination of being buried alive. He quotes, “To be buried alive is, beyond question, the most terrific of these [ghastly] extremes which has ever fallen to the lot of mere mortality.” page 58 paragraph 3. The dark nature is reflected in this quote, showing the supernatural side of Poe which is reflected in his writing and is also a characteristic of Romanticism. Poe uses much detail, as shown in this passage, “The face assumed the usual pinched and sunken outline. The lips were of the usual marble pallor. The eyes were lusterless. There was no warmth. Pulsation had ceased. For three days the body was preserved unburied, during which it had acquired a stony rigidity.” page 59 paragraph 2. The descriptive nature of this writing paints a vivid picture that intrigues the reader to use their imagination and visualize the scene presented in the text. This use of imagery ties with aspects of Romanticism because of the nature of the descriptions Poe uses. Describing the physical features of one who seems dead is a horrifying perspective as not many people thing about the aspects of death.

    Read More

  • The Pessimism of Beowulf in the Epic Poem, Beowulf

    2836 Words  | 6 Pages

    The ethical life of the poem, then, depends upon the propositions that evil. . . that is part of this life is too much for the preeminent man. . . .  that after all our efforts doom is there for all of us” (48).

    Read More

  • Concept Of Death in ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night versus ‘Because I Could Not Stop For Death

    1176 Words  | 3 Pages

    Who does not cower in fear upon the thought of death? Almost everybody does! However, people have differing views on the abstract idea of dying. In examining the poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death? by Emily Dickinson and "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night? by Dylan Thomas, it is evident that the poets use contrasting and comparative techniques in their unique presentations of the concept of death. In the poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death? Emily Dickinson presents the idea of acceptance of death, whereas in the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night? Dylan Thomas presents the idea of refusal and opposition to death. Despite the differences in theme, these two poets both use similar figurative language devices, such as metaphors, personification and alliteration as they explore their contrasting ideas pertaining to the concept of death. Through the use of their same literacy techniques, both of the authors have presented two very different perceptions on death: Dickinson's message is acceptance whereas Thomas?is rejection.

    Read More

  • The Lost Generation

    1481 Words  | 3 Pages

    The essays used in this book have been chosen by Harold Bloom, being that they are still by different essayists than the last two sources mentioned and considering Bloom is not one of them, it is still not bias. This source shed some light on the context of the two poems that were analyzed, but minimal observations on the poem itself and its correlation to the themes. Given this, there was only bare to little use of this secondary source.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Gothic Romanticism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'Thanatopsis'

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    Predominantly the poem offers a sense of comfort and wisdom, against the fear and pain associated with death. Bryant shows readers not to agonize over dying, in fact, he writes, "When thoughts of the last bitter hour come like a blight over thy spirit, and sad images of the stern agony, and shroud, and pall, and breathless darkness, and the narrow house, make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart -- go forth under the open sky, and list to Nature 's teachings." With this it eludes each person face their own death, without fright, to feel isolated and alone in death but to find peace in knowing that every person before had died and all those after will join in death (Krupat and Levine

    Read More

  • Division of the Body and Soul in John Donne's "The Funeral" and "Sonnet 3"

    1192 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...at significance but more importantly, they see death as a way of escaping the sin and pain that manifests itself on earth. The body is considered a shipping crate when it comes to the soul. It is something for the soul to reside in until it has fulfilled its purpose on earth. Then it leaves, to start a new life in another shipping crate. With a clean conscious each of the characters in these poems are able to die guilt-free and both believe they will ascend to heaven. They acknowledge the fact that their souls will carry on after their bodies have died and seem to rest assure in the fact that there is more to life than the experiences they had on earth. Similar to the way souls are regarded by today's standards, it is something that departs from person upon death and carries the memory of an individual forever. I think John Donne would have agreed with this idea.

    Read More

  • Feminist Reading of Thomas Gray's Elegy (Eulogy) Written in a Country Churchyard

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Death In Poetry

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    Goldsmith’s speaker begins nostalgically for the “loveliest village of the plain,” (1) by listing the town’s virtues which include “The never-failing brook, the busy mill, The decent church [.]” (11-12) Goldsmith uses this imagery to contrast the current state of the village, he goes on to say that “These were thy charms—But all these charms are fled.” (34) Here, the speaker urges readers to admonish the loss of the village’s charms by destroying the imagery created by the first 33 lines. He continues the description of the land as “forlorn” (76), but while the villagers were forced to abandon the area, the speaker’s nostalgia implies that he chose to leave. This nostalgia implies that the speaker’s depiction of the village could be highly romanticized. The speaker likens the loss of the village with a much greater problem, “The country blooms—a garden, and a grave.” (302) He suggests that this is not an isolated problem, but an epidemic that is happening all over the country. The village is lost to make room for a garden and a grave; the first belongs to the nobility and the later to the peasant. His portrayal of the New World supports th...

    Read More

  • Gray's “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”

    2194 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Epitaph Poem Analysis

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    Katherine Philip’s “Epitaph,” written in a couplet form, is memorializing her firstborn son who only lived less than six weeks after he was born. In this poem Katherine Philips is desperately trying to renew her faith in life, but she is struggling to do so because of the death of her son. She is attempting to justify the loss of her child, but is also questioning whether there is even a reason for hope. “What on earth deserves our trust?” If you cant trust anything then you have to rely on faith. Even things that we know as certain, like the sun rising in the morning, Katherine seems to not trust, “And so the Sun if it arise…” The “if” implies such a strong sense of doubt that it clearly emphasizes Philip’s struggling attempt to renew her faith in life.

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Elegy Written In A Churchyard

Open Document