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1、Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard09英语师范1班 20090503123 王小珺Its a very long poem. When I first made preparation for Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard before class, to tell the truth, I couldnt even understand what the poet wanted to tell us. So, later in class, I listened very carefully to my t
2、eacher in order to catch the main idea of this poem. The poet, Thomas Gray, was born in London and educated at Eton and Cambridge, where he, after a grand tour on the Continent, spent the rest of his life. He is a representative of neo-classicist poet. He and other neo-classicist poets had grown wea
3、ry of the artificiality and controlling ideas of neo-classicism. They craved for something more natural and spontaneous in thought and language. In their poetry, emotions and sentiments, which had been repressed, began to play a leading role again.Thomas Gray began writing Elegy Written in a Country
4、 Churchyard in 1742, shortly after the death of his close friend Richard West. This poem is noteworthy in that it mourns the death not of great or famous people, but of common men. The speaker of this poem sees a country churchyard at sunset, which impels him to meditate on the nature of human morta
5、lity.There are three parts of Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. From the first stanza to the seventh stanza is the first part. In this part, he described the glimmering landscape of nature and imaged the life before the villagers death. “Now fades the glimmering landscape on the slight, and all
6、 the air a solemn stillness holds, save where the beetle wheels his droning flight , and drowsy tinkling lull the distant folds.”The landscape is what the poet saw but the life is not. Though “no moreno more”, Thomas Gray told us in this churchyard, there was once beautiful scene in fields, harmonio
7、us lives and moving relationships. But now, it is a churchyard. What he depicted is a nice picture of common life and I enjoyed very much. Nowadays, with the rapid development of the society, its really difficult for us to enjoy tranquil of countryside. It is common peoples life, they dont need more
8、 money, more entertainment or more important position. They can live more happily than those who are very rich or have a high social status. The second part of Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is from stanza eight to twenty-three. In this part, Thomas Gray showed sympathy for countrymen. “Let n
9、ot ambition mock their useful toil, their homely joys, and destiny obscure, nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile the short and simple annals of the poor.” He also expressed his criticism to those people who are very rich and have good positions through comparison between them. It is a part of a
10、rgument, but the poet showed us some vivid visualization, thus it is not humdrum. He used “Ambition”, “Grandeur”, “Proud”, “Memory” ,“Honor” to describe the character of people in eighteenth century and compared to the dead men in this churchyard. He considered the fact that in death, there is no di
11、fference between great and common people. He goes on to wonder if among the lowly people buried in the churchyard there had been any natural poets or politicians whose talent had simply never been discovered or nurtured. Gravestones that carved with “uncouth rhymes” and “shapeless sculpture decked”
12、met human beings need “implores the passing tribute of a sigh”. The rest of the poem is the third part. In this part, Thomas Gray changed his target from all the dead men to “you”. “For thee, who mindful of the unhonored dead dost in these lines their artless tale relate, if chance, by lonely contem
13、plation led, some kindred spirit shall inquire thy fate.” Although “you” is one of the departed saint, “you” reflect all the common people. Critics have different ideas about what “you” refer to. Some people think it is “I”, others say it may be Thomas Grays poem. There is no exact answer to this qu
14、estion. It depends on your understanding. Thomas Gray shared the sentiment with those people that are known to public. In The Epitaph, he highly praised the dead mans whole life. His bounty was large and his soul sincere. He was a good man but his birth was humble.Gray did not produce a great deal o
15、f poetry; however, the Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard had earned him a respected and deserved place in literary history. Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard was written at the end of the Augustan Age and at the beginning of the Romantic period, and the poem has characteristics associated wi
16、th both literary periods. On the one hand, it has the ordered, balanced phrasing and rational sentiments of Neo-classical poetry. On the other hand, it tends toward the emotionalism and individualism of the Romantic poets; most importantly, it idealizes and elevates the common man.Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is a very good poem, but my understanding is not good enough to represent the poets thought. Its just the facet that I read
