Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Summary and Analysis
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Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
by Thomas Gray
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Our Summary of Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray's 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' is a 128-line poem about the subject of human mortality. The first four lines reference the ringing of a 'curfew bell,' signifying both the return home of the farm laborer in the poem and the contemplation of isolation. The bells ringing are similar to a death or funeral bell. With this in mind, the next few lines encourage this somber tone that Gray begins the poem with; he contrasts the mourning with the image of a peaceful landscape. Lines nine through twelve introduce how sorrow affects the owl's hooting. He interrupts the speaker's solitude to remind him of his grief. Throughout the middle parts of the poem, the speaker refers to a graveyard, forefathers, and the obscure; he reminds the reader in lines 33 through 36 that all must die, regardless of one's love for wealth and social position. Lines forty-five to forty-eight begin Gray's social assessment of the poor and poverty; he uses analogies when referring to the wasted talents of the poor. By the end of 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,' the speaker urges the reader to remember him for his human frailty, that he is indeed common with 'everyman,' and not for his associations whether political, economic, and/or social.