Thomas Gray - Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard - Assignment Example

Thomas Gray- Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard English of the June 30, Thomas Gray- Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard In Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, Thomas Gary does not merely celebrate the achievements of the rich and the famous. Rather the elegy evokes the readers to celebrate the humble achievements of the everyday householders. While saying that, “Let not Ambition mock their useful toil, / Their homely joys and destiny obscure (29-30)”, Gray endows the struggle of the common masses with much dignity and charm.

This recourse of Gray marks a new advent in the English Romanticism where the struggles of the common and the mundane became sacrosanct to the Romantic poetry. In this poem Gray wrests out the pomp imminent in the acts of the rich and the famous as he says, “The Paths of glory lead but to the grave (36)” and brings them in tandem with the so called ordinary people. This is indeed a potent and evocative poem that brings forth the idea that death is the eventual conclusion of the exploits of both the great and the common and meek.

It voices the meaning and glory inherent in the toils and travails of the common folks and brings them the due respect and dignity. It is only because this poem celebrates the charm and romance inherent in the lives of the common people that it turns out to be so emotive and inspiring for people from all walks of life, are they the rich or the common.