Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Summary The speaker is hanging out in a churchyard just after the sun goesdown. It's dark and a bit spooky. He looks at the dimly lit gravestones, but none of the grave markers are all that impressive—most of the people buried here are poor folks from the village, so their tombstones are just simple, roughly carved stones. The speaker starts to imagine the kinds of lives these dead guys probably led. Then he shakes his finger at the reader, and tells us not to get all snobby about the rough monuments these dead guys have on their tombs, since, really, it doesn't matter what kind of a tomb you have when you're dead, anyway. And guys, the speaker reminds us, we're all going to die someday. But that gets the speaker thinking about his own inevitable death, and he gets a little freaked out. He imagines that someday in the future, some random guy (a "kindred spirit") might pass through this same graveyard, just as he was doing today. And that guy might see the speaker's tombstone, and ask a local villager about it. And then he imagines what the villager might say about him. At the end, he imagines that the villager points out the epitaph engraved on the tombstone, and invites the passerby to read it for himself. So basically, Thomas Gray writes his own epitaph at the end of this poem. Lines 1-4 The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea, The plowman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness and to me. • • • • • • • So, right off the bat we have some vocab to sort out in this poem. The "curfew" is a bell that rings at the end of the day, but a "knell" is a bell that rings when someone dies. So it's like the "parting day" is actually dying. Sounds like a metaphor! The mooing herd of cows makes its winding way over the meadow ("lea" = "meadows") And the tired farmer clomps on home. Now that the cows and the farmer are out of the picture, the speaker gets everything in the world to himself (he has to share it with the growing darkness, but that's not so bad). Notice that the speaker refers to himself in the first person right away in that first stanza: the parting farmer and cows leave "the world […] to me." This would be a good time to note that the poet often removes vowels and replaces them with an apostrophe, like "o'er" instead of "over" in the second line. If you ever notice an odd-looking word with an apostrophe in it, try replacing the apostrophe with a letter to make a familiar word. Gray makes these contractions to make the number of syllables fit the iambic pentameter. While we're talking about form, we'll also point out the rhyme scheme here—it's ABAB. For more on the poem's meter and rhyme scheme, check out the "Form and Meter" section. Lines 5-8 Now fades the glimm'ring landscape on the sight, And all the air a solemn stillness holds, Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap. • • • • So what's happening. Molest her ancient solitary reign. not discourteous." we can guess that the "tower" mentioned here is probably the church tower. • • • This stanza is all one long sentence." Hold up—the speaker isn't saying that the ancestors of the town (a "hamlet" is a tiny town. There are some interesting literary devices in these lines. not an owl.a. as wand'ring near her secret bow'r. The air is quiet. too. but we knew that from the first stanza. impolite jerks. Each in his narrow cell for ever laid.k." Go to the "Symbols" section for more on these literary tools! Lines 9-12 Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tow'r The moping owl does to the moon complain Of such. He personifies the owl when he says that it's "moping" and "complaining. . Cool!) Because the title of the poem says that it was "written in a country churchyard. The subject and the verb of the sentence are way down there in the last line of the stanza: "The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. he's complaining that there's an outsider nearby—someone who is wandering near her private digs (a "bower" is a lady's private room) and bothering her solitude." since those are things a person would do. • • Here are some more exceptions to the overall peace and quiet: the bent-out-of-shape owl is hooting. except for the buzz of the occasional beetle and the tinkling bells hanging around the necks of livestock in their "folds" (a. Who is that outsider? Sounds like the owl is probably complaining about the presence of the speaker himself! (And we're just assuming the speaker is a "he. too: "solemn stillness" is a great example of alliteration. so the speaker is saying that the tower is dressed up in ivy. not an omelet with ham in it!) are impolite. barns). More figurative language here! The speaker uses metaphor to describe the tower where the owl lives as "ivy-mantled. But the speaker doesn't just say that there's an owl hooting—he uses some more figurative language. And what's the mopey owl complaining about? Apparently. Sounds peaceful and sleepy.") • • • • Lines 13-16 Beneath those rugged elms. So the forefathers being described here are probably just simple country folks. And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds.Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight. The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. and the speaker personifies the "tinkling" of the bells when he says that they're "drowsy. Must be sunset." (A "mantle" is a kind of cloak or coat. "Rude" is used to describe someone who was from the country. and the sentence structure is a bit wacky. Someone who wasn't sophisticated. like everything is winding down. and who was maybe a bit of a bumpkin. so let's try to sort it out. exactly? The "glimm'ring landscape" is fading from the poet's sight. that yew-tree's shade. " and "sire" means "father. or the echoes of a horn blown by a hunter or a shepherd. (1) The delicious smells of the breeze first thing in the morning ("incense" is a substance that you burn to make a room smell good). (2) No housewife is trying to take care of him after he gets home from work in the evenings. or the echoing horn. Here's how he explains it: The first three lines of this stanza list different things that normally would wake a person up (at least. Wow. (2) Birds twittering and singing in their straw nests. The swallow twitt'ring from the straw-built shed. the speaker is really piling up the reasons it's a total bummer to be dead. the speaker tells us that none of those things are going to wake up the dead guys anymore. (3) No little kids are yelling. • • If you hadn't figured it out from the previous stanza. poets used to describe children's speech as "lisping. "Daddy's home!" when he gets back from work. Having listed all those things in the first three lines. So many lists! (1) No one is burning the hearth fire for them anymore. Sounds like they're sleeping in only a metaphorical sense. Spooky! Lines 17-20 The breezy call of incense-breathing Morn. (A few vocab clarifications on this one: since little kids don't enunciate clearly. look at the third line of the stanza—they're not sleeping at home in their beds. the speaker wants to clarify that the sleeping guys are not going to wake up. Okay. We're actually hanging out in the graveyard.") (4) No little kids climb up onto his lap for kisses that would make their siblings envy them. • • Now the speaker is listing the kinds of day-to-day pleasures that these dead guys in the graveyard aren't going to get to enjoy anymore. Those poor dead guys in the graveyard! They're really missing out! . So we're not just hanging out outside of a church as the sun goes down. not just sleeping! • • Lines 21-24 For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn. and they're laid in there forever. Sounds peaceful. The cock's shrill clarion. Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share. No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed. speaker! We get it! They're dead.• • • • • So what are these country forefathers of the hamlet doing? They're sleeping. These graves are under elm and yew trees. These guys are dead and lying in their graves in the churchyard! The first two lines of the poem set the scene. They're sleeping in narrow cells. in the days before alarm clocks and cell phones). (3) The rooster's cock-a-doodle-doo ("clarion" = "alarm"). Or busy housewife ply her evening care: No children run to lisp their sire's return. and there are piles of turf on each one. right? Except. as they drove their teams of oxen or mules into the field to plough. Farmers would cut the furrow into the glebe using a plough. as though they were proper nouns or names. or jocund. so they were farmers. More farmer lingo in this line: the "furrow" is a long.Lines 25-28 Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield. simple pleasures. shallow hole that you drop seeds into. you probably shouldn't attack the audience or make them feel bad about themselves. remember (since they were described as "rude. How jocund did they drive their team afield! How bow'd the woods beneath their sturdy stroke! • • • • Now the speaker imagines the kinds of things these guys did back when they were still alive. Same deal with the second two lines of the stanza: the speaker says that we shouldn't allow "Grandeur. you might describe it as "stubborn. Again." and since we know from the title that this is a "countrychurchyard"). They often harvested their crops with their sickles (a sickle is a curved knife. They're just going to fall over. "Glebe" is an archaic word for farmland. But he doesn't come out and tell the readers to lay off the mockery—instead. what's the deal with that personification? The speaker is telling the readers that they shouldn't mock the hard work. like this). the trees aren't going to bow down to you out of respect.) • • • . Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke. (Rule Number 1 of Writing: If you want to earn money from your writing. even though he kind of is. These are country folks. You can tell because (a) he capitalizes them. More personification! Even if you're really handy with an axe. though." Here's a pic of a plough cutting a furrow. "obscure" destinies of the poor farmers in the graveyard. narrow. it seems like the speaker is personifying "Grandeur" to take the edge off of this stanza so that it won't sound like he's scolding the readers. but if the ground is really hard to break into. He's sort of displacing the blame. to smile disdainfully or scornfully at the day-to-day accounts ("annals") of poor people. Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful smile The short and simple annals of the poor. he says that they shouldn't allow "Ambition" to mock them. • • More figurative language." or high social status. y'all! The speaker personifies Ambition and Grandeur in these lines. The woods bowed to the stroke of their axes as they cleared forests to make their farms. The speaker imagines that the farmers were cheerful. or the unsung. Maybe he doesn't want the readers to feel as though he's shaking a finger at them. or the homely. • • • Lines 29-32 Let not Ambition mock their useful toil. and also because he says that they're doing stuff ("mocking" and "hearing") that only people do. and destiny obscure. Their homely joys. Regular people wouldn't mock these honest guys —only Ambition would be that cruel. So. ambitious. Families with a coat of arms would embroider it on everything from their servants' coats to the outside of their carriage to the screen in front of the fireplace. ye proud. aristocratic families. Here's the real reason why the speaker doesn't want proud. Last one: "inevitable" means unavoidable. any ceremony designed to make people feel important but that doesn't really convey any meaning. • • The speaker has more advice to proud. inevitable time. "Pomp" means proud. so obviously their families wouldn't be able to afford a fancy marble monument in the church itself. hoity-toity people: He addresses them as "ye proud. The paths of glory lead but to the grave." The last two lines of the stanza describe the church itself—the place where the monuments might be displayed. the speaker shifts the blame onto the personified "Memory. too! Here are a few nitty-gritty vocab notes before we start unraveling the sentence structure of these lines: "Heraldry" is the coat of arms associated with old. If Mem'ry o'er their tomb no trophies raise. you guessed it: all of those paths lead only to the GRAVE. the pomp of pow'r. you ask? Yep. • • • • Lines 37-40 you. and 3) The beauty that can be obtained from wealth—all of those things are waiting for the unavoidable. Okay. impute to these the fault. ornamentally carved ("fretted") ceiling. So. it's like the speaker is displacing blame. arched ("vaulted"). the dead guys in the churchyard are mostly poor farmers. He says that "Memory" failed to put up fancy trophies or monuments. The bell that marks the passing of a member of the church "peals" in praise of his or her life all through the aisles of the church and up to its high. • • Aha. but really. Check out this example. all that wealth e'er gave. Now let's get back to the summary! The speaker starts with a list (this guy seems to be fond of lists)." and tells them not to blame ("impute […] the fault") these dead poor dead people if they don't have fancy monuments ("trophies") over their graves. • • Lines 41-44 Can storied urn or animated bust Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath? . meaningless ceremony—basically. 2) The empty ceremony of being in a position of power. More personification! Again.Lines 33-36 The boast of heraldry. Awaits alike th' inevitable hour. grand people to make fun of the poor people in the churchyard: it's because we're all heading there someday. rich. wouldn't that be the responsibility of the families of the dead people? But of course. Here we go: 1) Bragging about your family's heraldry. Phew. Where thro' the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault The pealing anthem swells the note of praise. And all that beauty. What time. What could that mean? Sounds like a metaphor to us." Huh.Can Honour's voice provoke the silent dust. here) of what the speaker calls "celestial fire. but where's the verb? The sentence structure is wacky. of course not!") • • • Lines 45-48 Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire. that the rod of empire might have sway'd. The speaker is still addressing the proud. celestial or otherwise. is "No. That's playing a mean lyre! Lines 49-52 But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page Rich with the spoils of time did ne'er unroll. he imagines. since no one's heart is literally full of fire. Or Flatt'ry soothe the dull cold ear of Death? • • • This stanza is a pair of rhetorical questions. Let's try to untangle it. to their eyes. The dead person's body is a "mansion. in this case to commemorate a dead person) could call the breath back to a dead person and make him breathe again. that's another personification in the first line—the capitalized noun probably tipped you off. Or someone whose hands could have played a lyre (a kind of old-school harp) so well that the lyre would have become conscious. He asks them whether a fancy-schmancy urn (a container to hold a dead person's remains) or a really life-like bust (a statue of a person's head and shoulders. in the churchyard. "Celestial fire" must be a metaphor for passion. in the churchyard. might have mocked the lowly farmers in the churchyard back in stanza 7." . Phew. that's a mouthful! Second rhetorical question: the speaker asks if the voice of "Honour" (another personification!) can provoke the silent. there lies a person whose hands could have ruled an empire. Maybe. Chill Penury repress'd their noble rage. • • • Yep. or whether Flattery (another personification!) can make the cold ear of Death (yet another personification!) feel better about being dead. • • • • Now the speaker is reflecting on what type of person might be lying in the unmarked graves in the churchyard Maybe. here's what it would look like: "Knowledge ne'er (never) did unroll her ample page." and the speakerpersonifies the urn and the bust. there lies a person whose heart was once full ("pregnant" means full. hoity-toity readers—the ones that. [which is] rich with the spoils of time. (The answer to both of those rhetorical questions. "Knowledge" is the subject of this sentence. dusty remains of a dead person to speak again. Or wak'd to ecstasy the living lyre. Let's see…if we rearrange the sentence so that it's in a more usual structure. And froze the genial current of the soul. obviously. Hands. asking if they can call the dead person's breath back to the mansion of their body. Except he doesn't say so quite that directly—he uses a metaphor. Fun fact! These lines get quoted in Emma by Jane Austen. And another metaphor. like the guys buried in the churchyard without monuments or "trophies. Elton. lots of beautiful. as time goes on. The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear: Full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen. since a character like Mrs. that with dauntless breast The little tyrant of his fields withstood. • • • • Wait. And lots of flowers come into blushing bloom without a human to see and appreciate their beauty or their sweet scent. but there's ametaphor there that needs more unraveling.• • Okay. Let's take a closer look: "Full many" is just an eighteenth-century phrase that means "lots of. And waste its sweetness on the desert air." And why? Because poverty ("penury"= poverty) held back the noble parts of their characters—their passion." and both the gems and the flowers are metaphors for people who do awesome stuff that doesn't get recognized. This stanza is about unsung heroes.") But these poor guys in the graveyard never had access to all the knowledge history had to offer—those pages were never "unrolled" "to their eyes. More personification! "Penury" is being treated like a person—it's the thing that repressed and froze the dead people's potential. and. Well. now that's starting to make more sense." ("Spoils" means "plunder" or "loot. Elton is not exactly known for her good taste in literature. Could be a sign that Austen. poverty can freeze up the current of your soul-river. thought that Gray's poetry was too formal and stilted. by the irritatingly self-important Mrs." So. too: imagine that a person's soul is a river. Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood. those pages get filled with more and more information—that's what the speaker calls the "spoils of time. but they died unknown and undiscovered. like Wordsworth. we love Thomas Gray. Let's check it out. why are we talking about gems and flowers now? Must be more metaphor. pure gems are hidden away in dark caves under the ocean. even their rage. so this is one instance when we disagree with both Wordsworth and Austen! • lines 57-60 Some village-Hampden. • • The speaker muses that there might be dead people buried here that could have been famous revolutionaries or poets. It's as though Knowledge is a big collection of pages. Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest. Maybe there was some village-version of John Hampden who stood up to tyranny on the village green! . Let's read on… • • • • • Lines 53-56 Full many a gem of purest ray serene. This is a bummer. Of course. but the speaker might have a point. and not a period? Yeah. And shut the gates of mercy on mankind. The threats of pain and ruin to despise. To quench the blushes of ingenuous shame. He wasn't a popular guy in the history books at the time Gray was writing." or "fearless. we can figure out what's going on here. You actually have to start at the end: The dead villagers in the graveyard are replaced with the pronoun "Their" in line 65. without being able to express his brilliance. The struggling pangs of conscious truth to hide. or "penury. and became head of the short-lived English Commonwealth in 1649-1660. The sentence actually carries over between stanzas! This is called enjambment. and here's why: notice how Stanza 16 ends with a comma. we did." as the speaker calls it in Stanza 13. so if we unravel the weird sentence structure. Or heap the shrine of Luxury and Pride With incense kindled at the Muse's flame. and it can trip you up if you're not careful. helped bring about the execution of King Charles I. too." or the king.) Or maybe there was someone as brilliant as John Milton (you know. • • • • Lines 61-65 Th' applause of list'ning senates to command. but their crimes confin'd. Forbade to wade through slaughter to a throne." So maybe Gray liked to imagine that the same area could have produced other guys who were just as brilliant. And read their hist'ry in a nation's eyes. the guy who wrote Paradise Lost). The dead villagers' situation. He refused to pay a tax he thought was unfair. the villagers were poor and died unknown because of their poverty. Okay. or "lot.• (Historical side note: the real John Hampden was a Puritan politician who opposed the policies of King Charles I. So Gray calls him "dauntless. but who didn't have a chance. Another fun fact! Both Hampden and Milton were from the same area of England where Gray was writing his "Elegy. but he died mute. To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land. Their lot forbade: […] • • We've been going through the poem one stanza at a time. • • • • Lines 65-72 […] nor circumscrib'd alone Their growing virtues." kept them from receiving ("commanding") the applause and approval of politicians. Their situation also made it impossible for them to blow off threats of pain and ruin. but who remained unknown. ." for standing up to the "little tyrant. but things get a bit too wacky here. Or maybe there was someone who would have wreaked as much havoc as Cromwell. Nor could they spread good stuff ("plenty") all over the country. Another historical note! Oliver Cromwell was the leader of the anti-royalists during the English Civil War. even though that would win them a place in the history books in the eyes of their countrymen. Nope. or to act all merciless to people. they were able to live their lives without making a lot of hubbub or noise. it also keeps them from committing crimes. musicians. right? So if you hide your blushes. (Try to work that one into everyday conversation. You know how when you blush. so here. lit up. And there's more metaphor here. With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture deck'd. The Muses were the goddesses in Greek and Roman mythology who were responsible for inspiring artists. "Ingenuous" means innocent. Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray. and poets. the blush is the metaphorical flame that's getting "quenched. Along the cool sequester'd vale of life They kept the noiseless tenor of their way. Another metaphor there! Slamming the "gates of mercy" is a metaphor for being merciless. So this one goes along with the previous line. After all. we have to combine two stanzas because the sentence continues across the stanza break—more enjambment! Not only does the poverty of the villagers prevent ("circumscribe" = prevent) them from developing the virtues that would get them remembered in the history books. since they're busy working to put food on the table: They don't have time to wade through blood and gore to kill a king on his throne. the English novelist. Lines 77-80 Yet ev'n these bones from insult to protect. Because they live in a secluded ("sequester'd") area. serious wishes and desires. Here are some examples of the crimes these poor villagers just don't have time to commit. you're hiding your true feelings. Some frail memorial still erected nigh. . Fun fact! Thomas Hardy. gives a shout-out to Thomas Gray by titling one of his novels Far from the Madding Crowd." The poor villagers also don't have the chance to use fancy and flattering words to build a metaphorical shrine to the personifiedLuxury and Pride. • • • • • • • • • Lines 73-76 Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife. or inspired by the Muses. they never learned to stray away from more sober. your face feels hot? We talk about "quenching" flame. a blush indicates that you're ashamed of something. Implores the passing tribute of a sigh. So the "incense" that was lit at the Muse's flame must be a pen that is metaphorically kindled. Their situation likewise keeps them from trying to hide their blushes.• • Again. You can tell your athlete friends to "shut the gates of mercy" on the other team!) The villager's lot in life keeps them from trying to hide the truth. especially when the truth is struggling and conscious of BEING the truth. • • • Since the poor villagers who are buried in the churchyard live far away from the noise and strife of crowded cities. they at least still have frail. So there! Lines 81-84 Their name. That teach the rustic moralist to die." Since the muses were goddesses of poetry. Nor cast one longing." The speaker uses irony when he says that inscription was made by a "muse.• • • Even though these poor villagers don't have big fancy monuments or "trophies" over their graves. . how could they be unlettered or illiterate? These simple inscriptions take the place of fame and fancy elegies (poems written in memory of dead people). which is both pleasing and anxious. The place of fame and elegy supply: And many a holy text around she strews. like the villagers. or to leave the warm environment of the earth. if only to protect their remains from the insult of having people picnic or play cricket on their graves. their years. ling'ring look behind? • • After all. This pleasing anxious being e'er resign'd. we get more alliteration here. Some pious drops the closing eye requires. uncouth poetry. Ev'n from the tomb the voice of Nature cries. and even this simple inscription was clearly made by someone who was largely illiterate. without looking behind them at what they leave behind—especially someone who. ling'ring look. The "unlettered muse" also adds ("strews") the occasional Bible verse ("holy text") that inspires country folks to think about death so that they'll be prepared when their time comes. and are decorated with crude. with the repeated beginning L sound in "longing. or "unlettered. shapeless sculptures to ornament ("deck") them. Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day. • • • • • The "frail" monuments (78) are engraved only with the dead people's name and the years of their birth and death. "She" is the muse referred to in the previous line. and some morepersonification." • Lines 89-92 On some fond breast the parting soul relies. spelt by th' unletter'd muse. they still inspire passersby to pause long enough to sigh. But even though the memorials aren't all fancy. Ev'n in our ashes live their wonted fires." Sounds scary! Finally. flimsy memorials nearby. too! Being forgotten when you're dead is like being hunted down as the "prey" of a predator called "Forgetfulness. Lines 85-88 For who to dumb Forgetfulness a prey. These flimsy memorials aren't made out of fancy marble—they just have rough. the speaker asks. is going to be forgotten when he or she is dead? We get another metaphor here in line 85. who is going to give up ("resign") their life ("being"). Haply some hoary-headed swain may say. after all—it's the "voice of Nature" (yep. . • The speaker continues to imagine what the "hoary-headed swain" would say about him. might ask about the speaker's fate. so we'll look at both stanzas at once. It's only natural. and many other languages that have two versions of "you.• • • • Even simple. so what's our speaker actually saying to himself? He's saying that he is aware ("mindful") of the dead people who haven't been honored with lots of monuments. And pore upon the brook that babbles by. "Nature" is—you guessed it— being personified!). Some kindred spirit shall inquire thy fate. fancy-pants version of "you." But no! It's not fancy-pants at all! "Thee" and "thou" were actually informal or more intimate versions of "you." Like French. The speaker refers to himself in these lines—he's calling himself "thee. death)." (Fun grammar fact: most modern readers think of "thee" and "thou" as an old-fashioned." English used to have a formal and an informal way of saying "you. and the villagers' accustomed passions (their "wonted fires") live on in their ashes." And it makes sense that if the poet is addressing himself. by lonely contemplation led. religious friend or neighbor to close their eyes for them as they die.) Okay. he'd use the more informal way of doing so. more enjambment! The same sentence continues across a stanza break. He answers this question in the next stanza. and with somealliteration thrown in while he's at it ("Haply some hoary-headed" and "swain […] say")! Probably some gray-haired ("hoary-headed") farmer guy ("swain") would say that they had often seen the speaker hurrying through the dew-covered grass to watch the sun come up on the meadow lawn. "Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn Brushing with hasty steps the dews away To meet the sun upon the upland lawn. Then the speaker wonders what would happen if some random kindred spirit. gang. They need some pious.e. country folks like the villagers in the churchyard depend on their loved ones as they die (or as their souls "part" from the world). who mindful of th' unhonour'd Dead Dost in these lines their artless tale relate. poor. His listless length at noontide would he stretch. who happened to be musing on similar things (i. Lines 93-100 For thee. That voice of Nature calls out from the grave. so he's memorializing them in these very lines of poetry. Spanish. or their remains. if a random passerby happened to ask. • • • • Lines 101-104 "There at the foot of yonder nodding beech That wreathes its old fantastic roots so high.. • • • • Look. If chance. now smiling as in scorn. and sometimes he would look all droopy and mopey. or by the woods.• He imagines the old guy saying that at noon. nor yet beside the rill. He imagines the old guy saying that the speaker used to rove. the speaker would smile almost scornfully. Or craz'd with care. in the nearby woods. (This is probably the beech tree mentioned in Stanza 26. the speaker used to stretch out at the foot of the old beech tree—the one that has fantastically weird roots—and that he would stare at the babbling brook. like he was anxious or else hopelessly in love with someone who didn't love him back. Another came. underneath the gnarly old thornbush. or wander. "Listless length" in line 103 is another great example ofalliteration. along the fields ("heath") by the speaker's favorite tree. the old villager says that dirges (funeral songs) were played. Approach and read (for thou canst read) the lay." • • The speaker continues to imagine what an old villager would say about him after his death: And on the third day after the speaker didn't show up.) The villager goes on to say that another day passed. Nor up the lawn. woeful wan. The villager invites the random passerby who asked (the "kindred spirit" of line 96) to read the epitaph that is engraved on the speaker's tombstone. while muttering to himself. nor at the wood was he. Now drooping. Along the heath and near his fav'rite tree. Mutt'ring his wayward fancies he would rove. Sometimes. and that they saw the speaker carried slowly along the path to the church in a funeral procession. like one forlorn. and yet he still didn't see the speaker by the brook ("rill") or on the grass. or cross'd in hopeless love. Good times! Lines 109-112 "One morn I miss'd him on the custom'd hill. • • The speaker continues to imagine what the old villager might say about him after he's dead and gone: He imagines the villager saying that he missed seeing the speaker one morning in the usual place on a local hillside. Sounds like something's up… • Lines 113-116 "The next with dirges due in sad array Slow thro' the church-way path we saw him borne. • • • This stanza continues with what the speaker imagines an old villager would say about him after he was dead and gone. Grav'd on the stone beneath yon aged thorn. pale ("wan") with sorrow. • . • Lines 105-108 Hard by yon wood. • • Don't try to find out anything more about the dead speaker's good points. • • • • Now we're supposed to imagine that we. but he did pretty well for himself—he was generous and sincere. or science. either. And "Earth" is beingpersonified when the speaker imagines that it could have a "lap.. We get more personification here. Let's see what it says… This is where the speaker is resting his head on the ground. Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth. And Melancholy mark'd him for her own. good luck or wealth—it could mean either) and to Fame. he was sometimes kinda depressed. But at least he was no stranger to knowledge. and his soul sincere. Fun fact: The speaker's probably referring to his BFF. a tear. And don't try to dig up any dirt on his bad points. He was a scholar and a poet! But. Or draw his frailties from their dread abode. Richard West (see the "In a Nutshell" section for more on that). Morbid? Yes. Heav'n did a recompense as largely send: He gave to Mis'ry all he had. Fortune. are reading Thomas Gray's imagined epitaph. alas. in spite of his humble origins. we have to admit. In other words. . too—you can tell because all those nouns (Fame. his tears. He gain'd from Heav'n ('twas all he wish'd) a friend. (There they alike in trembling hope repose) The bosom of his Father and his God. he was of humble birth. that's a metaphor! Dead people don't really "rest their heads" anywhere—they're dead. after all. But Heaven gave him something pretty awesome: a friend." The speaker calls himself a young person who is unknown both to Fortune (i. or frailties. Lines 125-128 No farther seek his merits to disclose. like the "kindred spirit" who asked about the dead speaker.Lines 117-120 THE EPITAPH Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth A youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown. Science. Yes.e. But kind of cool. • • • • He might have had humble beginnings. Melancholy) are capitalized. • • • • Lines 121-124 Large was his bounty. The speaker gave everything he had to his depression. or (aspersonified here) Misery—in other words. and Heaven paid him back (sent a "recompense") for those good qualities. the human voices. which is caused by the fragrance of the pollen of the flower of the Red Champak every time it is in bloom. However. an instance of the use of irony because she is very angry at the idea of having the tree cut down. The fragrance is heavy and suffocating as the yellow pollen spreads everywhere. in heaven with God. The loving son therefore decides to cut down the tree. The actual meaning of the word ‘Ecology’ is not followed here but the poet seems to convey the thought that a particular kind of tree may have both negative and positive factors and therefore it need not be pulled down. especially his mother who is self sacrificing. saying that it is as old as herself. hoping for eternal life. the harsh sounds produced when new shoes are worn. His memories of the past would inevitably bring pictures of his family.• Why not. but he is prevented from doing so by his mother who sees the positive side of the tree in her garden. That's why not. sights. . The yellow pollen fog is the yellow dust of pollen carried in the air which is thick and heavy like fog which covers the earth. But they cannot stop the fog of pollen dust from the Champak trees. He is very angry because his mother has a severe attack of migraine. published in 1986. There is a casual connection between the ideas and they flow from one stanza to the next. often causing a person to vomit. ‘Ecology’ is taken from Ramanujan’s third volume of poems.A. ‘Ecology is a poem which could be read as one single sentence." or resting. There is also a reference to his Hindu heritage as he mentions the gods and the ancient beliefs in the poem. She says that the tree is as old as her and had been fertilized by the droppings of a passing bird by chance which is considered to be a very good omen. The positive side of it is that the tree provides many basketful of flowers to be offered to her gods and to ‘her daughters and daughter’s daughters’ every year. The sense of irony is indicated when the mother very angrily protests the idea of cutting down the tree even though she is suffering very badly from the migraine caused by it. This poem portrays Ramanujan’s strong interest in the family as a very important theme of his poetic craft. you ask? Both his good and his bad points are in "repose. She has a kind of emotional attachment to the tree. ‘Flash her temper’. The walls of the house are able to absorb almost everything-the sounds. Ecology. Even the doors of the speaker’s house cannot prevent the strong smell from entering the house.K. although the tree would give a terrible migraine to one line of cousins as a legacy. ‘Second Sight’. a very bad kind of headache.Ramanujan This poem. each stanza has one particular idea. The speaker seems to be the poet himself or some imaginary person who is loyally devoted to his mother.
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