Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (poem) by Gray (he)

Poet-speaker

the differences in lives of the rich and the poor, the cultured and uneducated, and how death ultimately
ignores that conflict, welcoming all humans into its bleak indifference

sights and sounds that mark the end of the day in a rural English village in the mid-1700s. the church bell
rings, cows are herded back to the farm, farmers trudge home from the fields, and darkness envelops the
land. As "the curfew tolls the knell of parting day," curfew – isolation, tolls – death toll, knell – a bell rung at
funeral, parting - euphemism for death. "lowing" of cattle, like the cries of mourners, "darkness," a classic
symbol of death.

surrounding fields seem to "glimm[er]" and "fade[]" in the sunset. fading of light symbolizes the fading of
life. "solemn stillness," like the atmosphere at a funeral. stillness is slightly broken by the buzzing flight of a
beetle. Beetle -teamwork needed in a funeral, buzzing – sound of funeral burning. "tinklings" of the bells
hung round the necks of sheep. This "drowsy" sound marks the onset of sleep—yet another symbol of death.

"moping owl" (seen as a spirit of deceased ancestor) calls out as if complaining to the moon. This owl lives in
a tower covered in ivy, (symbol of ancient) which the speaker calls a "bow'r,". Anytime someone or
something comes near her, the owl calls out in complaint.

Underneath the shade of elms and yew-trees, (in Celtic mythology – elm associated with underworld, yew-
trees represent death) these ancient graves "heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap." (mould = decay)
The speaker pictures the ancestors of the villagers as sleeping in narrow rooms, or "cell[s]," in the ground.
"rude" means uneducated

How the dead can no longer lead the lives they once lived. "The breezy call of incense-breathing Morn."
Incense – when dead. The speaker lushly describes the morning breeze as full of wonderful scents and lovely
noises, like the "swallow twitt'ring from the strawbuilt shed." (swallow – souls of children who dies while
being born) the speaker describes the sharper sounds of a rooster's crow or the blast of a hunting horn. no
amount of noise will wake him from his grave, which the speaker metaphorically calls a "lowly bed."

one of the biggest absences in death is familial love. For these dead men, there's no more coming home to a
warm fire made by their loving wives, busy at their evening tasks. The joys of having children is also gone.
The speaker imagines children running over to climb on their father's lap, vying for a kiss.

Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield,

Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke;
every season the men would cut down the crops in their fields and plow the land. With their farm animals
(such as oxen) harnessed to plows, the farmers cheerfully ("jocund") guided the animals over their fields.
Nearby, trees in the woods fell as the men cut them down for timber. They chopped with a "sturdy stroke,"

the speaker thinks about how the rich and powerful look on the lives of the poor. Here, "Ambition" is
personified as someone who usually has disdain for the work that poor people do. This work is "useful." It's
farmers who put food on everyone's tables. In contrast with the expensive and elegant pleasures of the rich,
the poor only have "homely joys," which probably seem barren, even ugly, to upper class people.
"Grandeur," is personified, again assuming that the rich only have a "disdainful smile" when hearing about
the lives of poor people. The poor may have "short and simple annals"—that is, there may not be much
written about their lives and history.
futility of wealth and power in the face of death. Everybody, rich and poor, dies. "[H]eraldry" refers to
aristocratic families' coats of arms, which represent their lineage. The "inevitable hour" is the moment of
one's death. In other words, glitzy and glamorous possessions and achievements can't stave off mortality.
Gray's syntax here is inspired by Latin, the language of the educated classes in the 18th century; it was
normal for poets to fit English words into Latin patterns of grammar. "The paths of glory lead but to
the grave," is one of the poem's famous lines.

urges the "proud" not to look down on those who can't afford the trappings of wealth. pomp
that surrounds the burial of the rich and famous. personifification, this time depicting "Mem'ry" (i.e.,
Memory) as a figure that erects memorials for the dead. Rich have "long-drawn aisle[s] and fretted
vault[s]"—that is, tombs with long hallways and high vaulted ceilings, all decorated with events from the
deceased's life. The rich even have mourners who sing an "anthem [...] of praise" at their funeral!

rhetorical questions to make his point about the futility of "pomp" in the face of death.
Can storied urn or animated bust
Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath?
A "storied urn" is a burial urn decorated with important events from the speaker's life. A "bust" is a sculpture
of someone's head, and an "animated bust" is a particularly lifelike version of a such a sculpture. Personifies
honour The speaker is asking, can such respect reanimate a decaying corpse? The implied answer is the
same as before: of course not. Similarly, "Flatt'ry" (flattery) cannot "soothe the cold ear of Death."

thwarted potential of the poor. Potential to do great things had they been born into better circumstances.
Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire
Next, the speaker speculates that someone here could have had "Hands, that the rod of empire might have
sway'd." The "rod of empire" is an emperor's scepter, the symbol of his absolute power. perhaps their hands
could have "wak'd to ecstasy the living lyre." The lyre is an ancient Greek instrument that has often been
used as a symbol of poetry itself

he personififies "Knowledge," This isn't the know-how of tending fields or raising cattle, but book-learning:
knowledge of historical events, scientific theories, literary masterpieces, and so on. The speaker makes clear
that such knowledge is connected to literacy by referring to knowledge's "ample page." knowledge itself a
kind of wealth. "Chill Penury"—that is, cold poverty. Poverty has "repressed" the poor's "noble rage." freezes
"the genial current of the soul." denies them the time, energy, education, resources, or cultivation to pursue
their creative inclinations.

he conjures the image of beautiful gems hidden in dark caves deep in the ocean. The next image reiterates
the same idea, but in different scenery. A lot of flowers "blush," or bloom, in "desert[ed]" places that no one
visits, and go unappreciated. Someone whose talents might have been valued among cultured city people
also blooms "unseen" in the countryside. "Full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen," is among the most
quoted lines of the poem.

alluding to three important English historical figures from the previous century: John Hampden, John Milton,
and Oliver Cromwell. John Hampden was a politician who, fought for parliamentary representation for the
people, standing up to the autocratic rule of Charles I. John Milton, wrote Paradise Lost. He even justified the
right of Parliament to execute King Charles I! Oliver Cromwell ruled England after the Civil War. Although
Cromwell fought on the side of those who wanted England to be a republic, he eventually become the sole
ruler of England—essentially a dictator. The person, instead of standing up to the king of England, might
have stood up to the stingy landlord who owned the fields this person farmed. Except, this person didn't
receive the same education as Milton, who was highly literate—fluent in both Latin and Greek as well as
modern European languages. As a result, this person was only a "mute inglorious Milton," Instead of going
down in history as a "brave bad man"—as his contemporary the Earl of Clarendon called Cromwell—this
person was "guiltless of his country's blood."
how they might have received the "applause of list'ning senates" scoffed at the danger at any "threats of
pain and ruin." for those who did succeed in their power grabs, there was the chance "To scatter plenty o'er
a smiling land." the biography (or "hist'ry") of a powerful ruler can be "read [...] in a nation's eyes."
speaker says that their lives were "circumscrib'd." Circumscribed means limited, just as a circle is limited by
the circumference the surrounds it. This meant that both their "virtues" and their "crimes" were limited.

vivid image of "wad[ing] through slaughter to a throne." The speaker conjures a merciless villain trudging
through the blood of his slain foes on his way to his throne. such a villain would "shut the gates of mercy on
mankind."

After brutally killing the people in their way, the ascendant ruler would have to deal with guilt for all that
killing. dealing with the "pangs of conscious truth" the speaker imagines a different kind of deceitful person,
someone who writes only to flatter the rich and powerful. personification, treating "Luxury
and Pride". Just as people burn incense in church, the speaker imagines deceitful and self-interested people
burning incense at this shrine in order to gain luxury and pride for themselves. This incense is lit by "the
Muse's flame." The Muse is the Greek goddess of poetry, and in European writing she generally symbolizes
poetic inspiration. This means writing poetry that pleases those people who already have luxury and pride, in
the hopes that they'll pass some of it along.

how these people were never poisoned by the desires of elite society. Instead, they kept to their simple
ways and clear minds. another line that has become famous, partly because it was the title of Thomas
Hardy's important novel, Far From the Madding Crowd. "[M]adding" means crazed. The phrase "Far from the
madding crowd's ignoble strife" means that country folk live away from all the wild conflicts and power
struggles of the rich. they live in "the cool sequester'd vale [i.e., valley] of life.” Metaphorically, the calmness
of their rural valley represents the calmness of their lives, which are insulated from the craziness of high
society.

there's a meagre memorial nearby ("nigh") that's supposed to "protect" these dead from "insult," This
memorial is a stone sculpture so unskillfully made that the speaker calls it "shapeless." In addition to its
rough shape, the sculpture also has some "uncouth," or poorly written, "rhymes."

While the rich have "fame and elegy," lengthy depictions of their accomplishments, the poor only get "Their
name, their years" carved on their graves. Sometimes, their graves also have "a holy text," a quote from the
Bible. These texts are supposed to "Teach the rustic moralist to die."

For who to dumb Forgetfulness a prey, referring to people who are doomed to be forgotten. metaphorically
compares dying to leaving a pleasant spot on a sunny day.

Dying people require the comforting presence of someone they love. dying people also need someone to cry
for them as they die.
On some fond breast the parting soul relies,
Some pious drops the closing eye requires;
As living people look at the graves of the dead, they feel some sort of presence. And as the living look within
themselves, the feel they have inherited some of the passions and concerns of those long gone.
Ev'n from the tomb the voice of Nature cries,
Ev'n in our ashes live their wonted fires.

For thee, who mindful of th' unhonour'd Dead

Dost in these lines their artless tale relate;
he has been trying to pay close attention to dead people who have received no attention. Thus, in this poem
the speaker artfully gives voice to this "artless" tale.

The speaker imagines someone happening to come to this village and being guided "by lonely
contemplation." As such this person will be a "kindred spirit," someone who feels a connection with the
speaker—someone as contemplative as he is. some grey-haired ("hoary-headed") villager might know.
The old man used to see the speaker day after day at dawn. The speaker would climb up the hill to see the
sunrise, knocking the dew off the grass on his way up.

After climbing up the dew-covered hill, he remembers, the speaker would lie under a beech tree and gaze
into a nearby brook. speaker describes the beech tree as "nodding," swaying in the wind. tree "wreathes its
old fantastic roots so high." old man describes the speaker's body as a "listless length." "[L]istless" means
lacking energy or enthusiasm. suggests "Melancholy"

wandering along the edge of the forest and muttering to himself. "wayward fancies." That is, the speaker is
talking to himself about his own wild imaginings. Other times, he is "woeful wan," sad and pale so that
he seems to "droop[]." Sometimes he's "hopeless" with unrequited "love." And other times he is "craz'd with
care,"

One morning, the speaker didn't show up on the usual hill. Another morning goes by, and still nothing. The
speaker isn't at any of his usual places. On the third day, the swain sees the speaker's funeral, and realizes he
is dead. the swain asks the reader to read the speaker's gravestone. The epitaph, then, is like one of the
"uncouth rhymes" a humble poem written by a local person.

Epitaph - The speaker dies without wealth or fame, according to his epitaph. "Fair Science frown'd not on his
humble birth." Fair Science = education. personified melancholy, or sadness, chose him for herself,
dooming him to a life of sorrow.

the speaker was certainly earnest and full of strong, varied emotions. uses personification, this time with
regard to Misery, or "Mis'ry." This misery demands that the speaker give it everything he has. Less
metaphorically, this line captures how suffering can take over people's lives, consuming everything they do.
In compensation for this life of suffering, the speaker gets "a friend" from Heaven. This friend is Heaven
itself. That is, seeing how sad and lonely the speaker is, Heaven takes him back. All the speaker had ever
wanted was companionship, and now he is with God and has all the love and companionship he needs.

No farther seek his merits to disclose,

Or draw his frailties from their dread abode,
(There they alike in trembling hope repose)
The bosom of his Father and his God.