Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (Masterplots II: Poetry Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Thomas Gray
- First Published: 1751
- Type of Work: Elegy
- Genres: Poetry, Elegy
- Subjects: Rural or country life, Poverty or poor people, God, Human race, England or English people, Eighteenth century, Death or dying, Life, philosophy of, Life and death, Church or churches, Cemeteries
The Poem
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is by far Thomas Gray’s most popular poem and is probably still one of the most popular poems in the English language. It was an immediate success and required five printings in 1751—the year of its publication—alone. There have been more than two hundred English and American imitations and parodies, and the poem has been translated into at least eighteen languages, including Armenian, Czechoslovakian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, and Icelandic.
The poem can best be understood in...
[The entire page is 1541 words long]
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