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Thomas Gray:Transitional Poet
Thomas Gray:Transitional Poet
Mrs. CumberlandMrs. Cumberland
ObjectivesObjectives
To become acquainted with the work of Thomas Gray
To examine the elegy To study an example of the literary
transition from Neoclassical to Romantic literature
To become acquainted with the work of Thomas Gray
To examine the elegy To study an example of the literary
transition from Neoclassical to Romantic literature
Thomas GrayThomas Gray
Born in London on December 26,1716 His father was a violent-tempered man
who worked as a scrivener ( public copyist or writer, such as a notary)
His mother supplemented income by keeping a shop Allowed Gray to go to Eton and Cambridge
He studied classical literature
Born in London on December 26,1716 His father was a violent-tempered man
who worked as a scrivener ( public copyist or writer, such as a notary)
His mother supplemented income by keeping a shop Allowed Gray to go to Eton and Cambridge
He studied classical literature
Gray traveled for three yrs. after graduating.
Never married Professor of modern
history and languages at Cambridge. Spent time as a poet and
scholar Explored British museum
( opened 1759) Died in Cambridge in
1771 after a long illness
Gray traveled for three yrs. after graduating.
Never married Professor of modern
history and languages at Cambridge. Spent time as a poet and
scholar Explored British museum
( opened 1759) Died in Cambridge in
1771 after a long illness
Gray as a PoetGray as a Poet
Represents a transition from the Neoclassical couplet of Pope to the more expansive verse forms of the Romantic poets
Represents a transition from the Neoclassical couplet of Pope to the more expansive verse forms of the Romantic poets
Gray as a Poet ( continued)
Gray as a Poet ( continued)
Four-line stanza form with abab rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter became known as the “elegiac stanza”in honor of his “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”
Four-line stanza form with abab rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter became known as the “elegiac stanza”in honor of his “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”
Gray as a Poet ( continued)
Gray as a Poet ( continued)
Alternating rhyme of this verse differs from the classical couplet form, but preserves the emphasis on following a pattern
Diction has much of the precision and polish of the Neoclassical school.
Alternating rhyme of this verse differs from the classical couplet form, but preserves the emphasis on following a pattern
Diction has much of the precision and polish of the Neoclassical school.
Shows Romantic tendencies in the spirit and themes of his poetry more than in his form.
Shows Romantic tendencies in the spirit and themes of his poetry more than in his form.
His depiction of nature and the common life anticipates later Romantic poets like Wordsworth
His depiction of nature and the common life anticipates later Romantic poets like Wordsworth
Gray’s focus on the life of the common people and the effect of nature upon one’s mood are characteristic of the Romantic poet.
Gray’s focus on the life of the common people and the effect of nature upon one’s mood are characteristic of the Romantic poet.
Elegy…in a …ChurchyardElegy…in a …Churchyard
Most famous of his poems Spent six years composing the
poem Reveals personality in emotional
expressions on nature and death.
Most famous of his poems Spent six years composing the
poem Reveals personality in emotional
expressions on nature and death.
Elegy..in a…ChurchyardElegy..in a…Churchyard
Reflects Pope’s epigram, “What oft was thought, but ne’er so well expressed”
Reflects Pope’s epigram, “What oft was thought, but ne’er so well expressed”
DefinitionsDefinitions
Elegy: A poem lamenting
the death of a friend or a famous person
Compare Tennyson’s “In Memoriam” or Whitman’s “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom”
Elegy: A poem lamenting
the death of a friend or a famous person
Compare Tennyson’s “In Memoriam” or Whitman’s “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom”
Eulogy: A speech or writing
extolling the virtues and services of a person- especially referring t a funeral oration
Note: Gray’s “Elegy” does not refer to a particular death, but rather reflection of the lives of people buried in the churchyard and, by extension, of humankind in general.
Eulogy: A speech or writing
extolling the virtues and services of a person- especially referring t a funeral oration
Note: Gray’s “Elegy” does not refer to a particular death, but rather reflection of the lives of people buried in the churchyard and, by extension, of humankind in general.
Poetic diction/classical and topical allusions in “Elegy”Poetic diction/classical and topical allusions in “Elegy”Line 2: lea pasture
Line 11: Bower dwelling
Line 18: horn horn of the hunter
Line 33: The boast of Heraldry
Heraldry is the study of family cots of arms; thus the phrase refers to the pride of having a great family.
“Elegy” “Elegy” Lines 33-36: The subject is
“hour”; the verb is “wait”; lines 33 and 34 are the direct object of wait
Line 39: fretted vault
The ornamental arched ceiling of a church roof
Line 41: Storied urn An urn inscribed with the story of the deceased
Line 41: animated Life-like
“Elegy”“Elegy”Line 43: Provoke Arouse or call forth
Line 52: genial Warm or living
Line 57: Hampden John Hampden ( 1594-1643), a British landowner who resisted the tax assessment to maintain the fleet of Charles I, thus becoming the hero of England’s Civil War, in 1642.
Lines 61-64 Direct objects of the word forbade in line 65
“Elegy”“Elegy”
Line 73: madding Wild, furious
Line 76: tenor Even course
Line 79: uncouth strange
Line 81: unlettered Muse
The spirit of folk art
“Elegy”“Elegy”
Line 84: moralist Moral man
Line 92: wonted customary
Line 93: For thee Probably Gray himself; perhaps the stonecutter poet of this graveyard
Line 97: Haply perhaps
“Elegy”“Elegy”
Line 97: swain Rustic, country youth
Line 116: thorn Hawthorne tree
Line 119: science knowledge
Line 121: bounty bounteousness
READ “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”
Answer discussion questions
READ “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”
Answer discussion questions
ReflectReflect
The poem is Neoclassical in style Regular iambic pentameter lines
“The curfew tolls the knell of parting day…”
Poetic in diction “storied urn” “the dull cold ear of Death”
The poem is Romantic in tone Scenes of nature Exaltation of humble country folk and gentle
melancholy tone
The poem is Neoclassical in style Regular iambic pentameter lines
“The curfew tolls the knell of parting day…”
Poetic in diction “storied urn” “the dull cold ear of Death”
The poem is Romantic in tone Scenes of nature Exaltation of humble country folk and gentle
melancholy tone
Additional ActivitiesAdditional Activities
Read “Elegy” and Edward Young’s “Night Thoughts” or Robert Blair’s “The Grave” and compare their views on death with Gray’s
Read “Elegy” and Edward Young’s “Night Thoughts” or Robert Blair’s “The Grave” and compare their views on death with Gray’s
One of Gray’s contemporaries is William Collins. Read Collins’s “ode to Evening” and compare its Neoclassical and Romantic elements with those of Gray’s “Elegy”
One of Gray’s contemporaries is William Collins. Read Collins’s “ode to Evening” and compare its Neoclassical and Romantic elements with those of Gray’s “Elegy”
Two modern elegies are “Elegy for Jane” by Theodore Roethke ( 1908-1963) and “Elegy for William Hubbard” by Tony Connor ( 1930-) Compare the subject matter of these two elegies with Gray’s poem
Two modern elegies are “Elegy for Jane” by Theodore Roethke ( 1908-1963) and “Elegy for William Hubbard” by Tony Connor ( 1930-) Compare the subject matter of these two elegies with Gray’s poem
