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Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 25: Thomas Gray: The Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

Unit 25: Thomas Gray: The Elegy Written in a Notes

Country Churchyard

CONTENTS

Objectives
Introduction

25.1 Introduction to the Author
25.2 Text of the Poem: Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

25.2.1 Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Summary

25.3 Thomas Gray: The Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard: Discussion and Analysis
25.4 Thomas Gray: The Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard: Theme

25.4.1 Search for Self
25.4.2 Class Conflict

25.5 Summary
25.6 Keywords

25.7 Review Questions

25.8 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:
• Know about the biography of Thomas Gray
• Discuss the analysis and summary part of the poem “Elegy written in a country church yard”
• Explain theme of “Elegy written in a country churchyard”.

Introduction

The title Far from the Madding Crowd comes from Thomas Gray’s famous 18th-century poem “Elegy
Written in a Country Churchyard”: “Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife, Their sober wishes
never learned to stray; Along the cool sequestered vale of life they kept the noiseless tenor of Their
way.” By alluding to Gray’s poem, Hardy evokes the rural culture that, by Hardy’s lifetime had
become threatened with extinction at the hands of ruthless industrialization. His novel thematizes
the importance of man‘s connection to, and understanding of, the natural world. Gabriel Oak
embodies Hardy’s ideal of a life in harmony with the forces of the natural world.
The novel also contemplates the relationship between luck, or chance, and moral responsibility:
Why should we live a morally upright life if tragedy strikes us all equally anyway? While some
characters, like Gabriel, are always responsible and cautious, others, like Sergeant Troy, are careless

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