Themes Of Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard

853 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Elegy written in a country churchyard conclusion

Deathly Equal
A Perspective of Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

Life, is commonly not how we act ourselves, but rather how we react to any of the circumstances that we might find ourselves in. Our opinions and perspectives will have more influence over how we conduct ourselves than any sort of fact ever will. The Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard has many underlying themes to go along with the themes that are clearly evident from the surface. Also, we must go to Andrew Dillon and his use of the Latin and the phrase memento mori to recall that all of mankind, no matter the type of life they lived on earth, will eventually die. Thomas Gray does an excellent job of demonstrating this dynamic by showing that death is impartial and that it will claim anybody that it can get its’ grip around. Overall, the three most prevalent themes in Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard are that of class standing, death, and the search for yourself. The first theme encountered in Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, is the idea or concept of class or …show more content…

Whenever there is a story that involves a graveyard, it almost a foregone conclusion that death will factor heavily into the plot of the story. It is no different with this poem. According to Aviya Kushner in an essay for Poetry for Students, “while the other themes are more significant to the overall moral of the story, the theme of death is prevalent in every other facet of the story.” Kushner is absolutely correct in her thoughts here and we should take note of what she says. The other themes are undoubtedly more important than the theme of death, but to ignore the theme of death is to ignore the story entirely. As you can see, the theme of death is present from the beginning to the end of the story, but it is perhaps one of the less meaningful themes that is presented in the Elegy Written in a Country

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Two Thoughts Of Death By Countee Cullen

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    Death is pictured at the beginning of the poem as a pretty women. Suddenly the picture changes and the narrator explains seeing death coming for him from out far, moving like the wind and cutting down the flowers in her path. Somehow the picture of the grim reaper appears, death is clearly the main topic

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Backyard Blues By Natasha Trethewey

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Millay's Poem 'Thou Famished Grave'

    365 Words  | 1 Pages

    Millay’s poem “Thou famished grave” explores death’s inevitable success and the speaker’s resistance against it to gain victory within loss. The first way Millay achieves this is through the animalization of death. The poem describes death throughout with words such as, “roar” (2) and “jaws” (7), which leads to a portrayal of death as a predatory animal. A further description in the poem of the speaker as “prey” (9), helps to strengthen this portrayal. As a result, this animalistic depiction of predator and prey shows death’s advantage and dominance over life. In addition, it shows that the speaker is like a gazelle being hunted by a lion. They will not stand motionless and be defeated, but will run away to survive death and “aim not to be

    Read More

  • Figurative Language In Gordon Parks The Funeral

    1508 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The Funeral” is written as a free verse; this means that Gordon Parks does not have limits to certain words or specific syllable amounts while writing the poem. This allows the reader to feel the speaker’s personal thoughts and breath patterns without them being changed to fit a certain rhyme or rhyme scheme. As a result, it is simpler to empathize with the speaker because it’s easier to relate to how he feels. Additionally, the reader can receive a more detailed picture of both the speaker’s past and present environments, allowing them to more clearly visualize the speaker’s change in

    Read More

  • Elegy For The Native Guard By Natasha Trethewey Analysis

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    This idea of memories being forgotten is when there is a mention of graves being lost in “Elegy for the Native Guard”. This is further reinforced in the line “All the grave markers, all the crude headstones – water-lost.” (44) While the poem does allude to the fact that these graves were destroyed due to natural causes, that of a hurricane, it is still significant. This poem demonstrates that society’s memory is not permanent, it can and will be lost

    Read More

  • essay 1

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    The theme death has always played a crucial role in literature. Death surrounds us and our everyday life, something that we must adapt and accept. Whether it's on television or newspaper, you'll probably hear about the death of an individual or even a group. Most people have their own ideas and attitude towards it, but many consider this to be a tragic event due to many reasons. For those who suffered greatly from despair, living their life miserably and hopelessly, it could actually be a relief to them. Death affects not only you, but also those around you, while some people may stay unaffected depending on how they perceive it.

    Read More

  • Elegy For My Father Who Is Not Dead

    1952 Words  | 4 Pages

    An elegy is typically a way to honor a person who passes away, although the author of this poem uses this form of expression as an appreciation for his father who is still alive. In this poem, although the father is not dead, the narrator dreads the moment when death will permanently separate them. Hudgins

    Read More

  • The Last Night That She Lived

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Elegy For Jane Poem Analysis

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Elegy for Jane and Bells for John Whiteside's Daughter, two poets mention the loss that they have experienced and the different ways the dead have influenced their lives. However, the literary devices used by the two authors reveal two very different themes. In “Elegy for Jane” Roethke uses auditory imagery, personification of nature, and metaphors to depict the somber mood of the elegy, while Ransom uses ironic juxtaposition, symbols, and euphonious alliteration to reveal the true grief in the death of a child.

    Read More

  • Funeral Rites, explore Seamus Heaney’s attitude to Death in North.

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Funeral Rites, Heaney portrays various attitudes towards death, which are amplified in North as a collection, through its distinct, tri-partite structure. In the first section, Heaney concentrates on his admiration of the ceremony he experienced attending funerals in the past.The transition from past tense to present is confirmed by the strong adverb ‘Now’, and lines 33-39 focus on The Troubles plaguing Northern Ireland since the 1960s. Future tense beginning on line 40 addresses Heaney’s hope for the future, emphasizing the current lack of ritual.

    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

  • The Theme of Death in Poetry

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Theme of Death in Poetry Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson are two Modern American Poets who consistently wrote about the theme of death. While there are some comparisons between the two poets, when it comes to death as a theme, their writing styles were quite different. Robert Frost’s poem, “Home Burial,” and Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I felt a Funeral in my Brain,” and “I died for Beauty,” are three poems concerning death. While the theme is constant there are differences as well as similarities between the poets and their poems. The obvious comparison between the three poems is the theme of death.

    Read More

  • Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Declaration of Independence contains a snippet about the equality of men; a topic interesting to 18th century authors. The speakers in Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” and in Goldsmith’s “The Deserted Village” utilize the themes of death and isolation in order to represent the different social classes. Goldsmith’s speaker idealizes and mourns the decay of rural life, while Gray’s speaker equalizes the different classes. . This essay examines the difference between these two depictions and shows how Gray’s use of stylistic features creates a more convincing argument.

    Read More

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

    2194 Words  | 5 Pages

    “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is a poem composed by Thomas Gray over a period of ten years. Beginning shortly after the death of his close friend Richard West in 1742, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” was first published in 1751. This poem’s use of dubbal entendre may lead the intended audience away from the overall theme of death, mourning, loss, despair and sadness; however, this poem clearly uses several literary devices to convey the author’s feelings toward the death of his friend Richard West, his beloved mother, aunt and those fallen soldiers of the Civil War. This essay will discuss how Gray uses that 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.

    Read More

  • Funeral Blues Analysis Essay

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Themes Of Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard

Open Document