In one of the most quoted passages of the poem, Gray introduces his argument that despite the anonymity of the commoners buried in the churchyard, they must be memorialized and thereby remembered: “Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife, / Their sober wishes never learn’d to stray.” These lines express a sense that rustic life is ennobling by virtue of its difficulties and modesty; indeed, it is superior to the “ignoble strife” of city life. The ensuing stanzas elevate the commoners’ “frail” memorials with “uncouth rhymes” to the status of the “shrine of Luxury and Pride” that marks the graves of the wealthy and powerful. Although the rustic villagers are not valued by the wealthy, they have an intrinsic value that transcends social class.

The poem suggests that the common person who passes on deserves a memorial to signify his or her passing, as well as to provide a place for the living to commemorate the dead. After all, “the parting soul relies” on the living to be remembered and lamented. Gray ultimately laments that no one leaves this life, “the warm precincts of the cheerful day,” without looking back with longing and regret.