A Brief Annotation of ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' of Thomas Gray

By Venkataraman M

This poem of Thomas Gray titled "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"  is one of the beautiful poems in English literature. The poet sees a country churchyard at sunset, which impels him to meditate on the nature of human mortality. He considers the fact that in death, there is no difference between great and common people. He feels that among the lowly people buried in the churchyard there might have been some natural poets like John Milton or politicians like Oliver Cromwell.  Just like some rarest gems buried in the deep sea and the finest flowers spreading their fragrance in a forest, these great people might not have been discovered at all. This thought leads him to praise these dead unsophisticated poor villagers for the honest and simple lives that they lived.

The poem has been presented along with a brief annotation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M. VENKATARAMAN
• Release date: Mar 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215746042

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A Brief Annotation of ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard’ of Thomas Gray

M. Venkataraman

Year of Publication-2021

Copyright - M. Venkataraman

Published by:

M.Venkataraman,

G-10, Ground Floor,

Innovative Timberleaf,

Somasundarapalaya,

H.S.R. Layout, Sector II,

Bangalore-560102.

This book is also available as an audio book.

Contents

A Brief Annotation

The Poem

Books by the Author

Audio Books by the Author

A Brief Annotation

An elegy is a poem which laments the dead. This poem of Thomas Gray titled Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is one of the beautiful poems of English Literature. It is said that Gray might have written the poem in 1742, shortly after the death of one of his close friend, but the poem was published only in 1751. The poem is noteworthy in that it mourns the death not of great or famous people, but of common men.

The poet