Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Thomas Gray
- First Published: 1747
- Type of Work: Ode
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry, Ode
- Subjects: Teaching or teachers, College life, England or English people, Eighteenth century, Colleges or universities, Boys, Students or student life
The Poem
The three elements of the title prepare the reader to understand the poem. First, it is an ode, a lyric poem on a serious subject conveyed in dignified language. Second, it focuses on “a distant prospect.” This distance is both in place—Thomas Gray’s view of Eton, his old school, from across the Thames River—and in time—the years since the poet’s graduation from Eton. Furthermore, the prospect is a literal view of the campus as well as an imaginative vision of what the future will hold for the boys now on the campus. Third, Eton College refers not only to...
[The entire page is 1464 words long]
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