Among 18th-century poets, Gray is usually regarded as someone who slowly ushered in the Romantic revival through his intense love of nature and his passion for unhackneyed subjects. His numerous poems and diaries reveal his genuine passion for nature in all her moods. Long before Wordsworth and Coleridge, he seems to have been entranced by the charm of the Lake District. His diaries bear abundant testimony that nature thrilled him to the depths of his being.
While there is no doubt about the genuineness of his love for nature, his descriptions are often trite and conventional. It almost seemed like he sometimes stifled the glow and emotion in his heart and merely indulged in inane phrases and insignificant conventionalities. Though he was a precursor to the Romantic Revival, neoclassical ideals restrained him too much. He was not daring enough to break completely through such conventions. Therefore, his poetry is often filled with the unfeeling, conventional description characteristic of eighteenth-century poetry. Sometimes, however, he rises to greatness, and a spark of genuine emotion rages within him.
Nature description in the Elegy, though largely conventional, has undoubted beauty. Gray writes with genuine emotion. The picture of the quiet evening in the churchyard has seldom been surpassed; he makes it vivid and real. We can see the churchyard as the day’s light dies away, the ploughman wearily turning home, the poet left alone in the gloom and darkness. Like a true artist, he has introduced even minute details. The drone of the beetle, the drowsy tinkling from the distant folds, the hoot of the owl from her lonely tower, etc., all add to the picture’s impressiveness.
In describing the lives of the rude forefathers of the hamlet who lie buried in the churchyard, Gray finds occasion to give some more pictures of the beauty of nature. However, it has to be pointed out that these descriptions are too much in the manner of the neoclassical poets. The felicity of phrases like “incense-breathing morn”, “the twittering swallow”, and “the cock’s shrill clarion” should not make us insensitive to their coldness and unfeeling nature.
Towards the end of the poem, where the poet describes the ideal life he might have liked to lead, he paints a few fascinating pictures. We glimpse the poet’s absolute love of nature. He likes to be in constant communion with nature’s lovely presence. The early-morning scene, with the poet greeting the sun on the upland lawn, is vividly pictured. The brook that babbles by, the nodding beech with its fantastic roots, the heath, etc., add to the beauty of this picture. For once in the poem, we feel as if we are listening to the voice of a poet whose heart glows with a genuine passion for nature.
WORKS CITED
Gray, Thomas. The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray: English, Latin, and Greek. Edited by H. W. Starr and J. R. Hendrickson, Oxford University Press, 1966.
Gray, Thomas. The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray. Edited by John Bradshaw, Macmillan, 1891.
Poem Analysis. “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray.” Poem Analysis, https://poemanalysis.com/thomas-gray/elegy-written-in-a-country-churchyard/
“Thomas Gray.” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/thomas-gray.
Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan is a teacher, bilingual writer and artist with over two decades of experience in teaching English language and literature. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of English at NSS College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Her blog, ashlit.in brings together academic resources, creative writing in Malayalam and English, and visual art. The platform features lecture notes, study materials, poems, reflections, short prose, and a curated collection of her paintings. Through this space, she seeks to foster learning, creativity, and meaningful engagement with literature and the arts.
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