- The poem's subject is man. One example of intense moralization is in lines 15-16 where it says, "Each in his narrow cell forever laid. The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep." Each person on those tombstones, no matter what their station in life in that village, is now in the ground forever. Another example is in lines 33-36 where it says, "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Awaits alike the inevitable hour The paths of glory lead but to the grave." Despite all the glory, wealth, and success of a person, in the end they will ultimately die. Death is unavoidable. An example of artificial poetic diction is found in line 3 which says, "The plowman homeward plods his weary way." I think this is a more roundabout and elegant way to say that the farmer is going home. Another example of artificial poetic diction is
- The elements that foreshadow romanticism are the country setting, the concept of living humbly, the way the poet creates a feeling by using natural description, and the setting of the speaker being alone while contemplating.
- I think that Gray's poem has been very appealing to readers throughout the years because of it's ability to convey the same emotions and meaning despite the difference in times or audiences. Readers can relate to this contemplative poem which ultimately makes them think about their life and how people will view it after they are dead. Essentially thinking about "what will be on their own grave stone."
4. In what ways do you think the speaker's life might be similar to the villagers' lives he imagines? What is the significance of his epitaph? Do you think the inclusion of the epitaph weakens or strengthens the poem?
- The speaker's life probably experienced some large successes, honor, knowledge, admiration, power, and was of a humble birth.
- The significance of this epitaph is that it is Gray's own epitaph.
- I think the inclusion of this epitaph strengthens the poem. It is Gray's own observation of his life shortly summed up in a 3 stanza epitaph. It causes the reader to think about what their own epitaph would say, enforcing the point of this whole poem.
5. Beginning with the setting in lines 1-16 and concluding with the epitaph in lines 117-28, identify the seven main divisions of the poem. What effect does Gray create through his carefully planned sequence of ideas?
- 1 - Evening setting
- 2 - Churchyard
- 3 - Reflection on the graves themselves
- 4 - Reflection of the people's lives who are now in the grave
- 5 - Successes of life that people attain
- 6 - The good and bad things in people's life that go unnoticed after death
- 7 - All life must come to an end
- Through these ideas Gray creates the effect of the somberness of death. When the speaker is walking around in the churchyard the day is coming to an end. The end of the day relates back to the idea of death and a closing. Each division in this poem relates back to the reflection of the speaker on the lives of others and on his own personal life. Gray opens with the quiet solitude of evening, carries this idea through with the graves and the reflection of those people's lives, and then ends the poem with his own epitaph and "conclusion to his life."
