Thomas Gray is majorly known for his famous poem ‘Elegy Written in Country Churchyard’ which was published in 1751. The contemplates such themes as death and the afterlife. These themes foreshadowed the upcoming Gothic movement. Because of this poem, he became known as one of the Graveyard Poets. The "Graveyard Poets", also termed "Churchyard Poets", was a number of pre-Romantic poets of the 18th century characterized by their gloomy meditations on mortality, "skulls and coffins, epitaphs, and worms" elicited by the presence of the graveyard. Moving beyond the elegy lamenting a single death, their purpose was rarely sensationalist. The "graveyard poets" are often recognized as precursors of the Gothic literary genre, as well as the Romantic movement. The term "Graveyard School" refers to four poems: Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard", Thomas Parnell's "Night-Piece on Death", Robert Blair's The Grave, and Edward Young's “Night-Thoughts”.
Gray also wrote a mock-elegy titled ‘Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes’ that he wrote for his friend Horace Walpole’s cat. The mock elegy was published in 1747. In the same year (1747) he wrote “Ode to a Distant Prospect of Eton College” which was published anonymously. In this poem, he recalled his schooldays as a time of great happiness. It was a Horatian Ode with a calm and reflective form. In contrast to the lofty, heroic Pindaric odes, most of Hortian odes are intimate, calm, and reflective; they are often addressed to a friend and deal with friendship, love, and the practice of poetry.
In 1754, Gray published ‘The Progress of Poesy: A Pindaric Ode’. It was his first Pindaric Ode. A Pindaric Ode is a ceremonious poem written in a triadic structure consisting of a strophe (two or more lines repeated as a unit) followed by a metrically harmonious antistrophe, concluding with a summary line (called an epode) in a different meter. Pindaric odes are often ceremonious, celebrating the victory of a winner with a performance of choral chant and dance in an elaboratively complex, metaphorically rich, and intensively emotive language. His other famous Pindaric ode was The Bard: A Pindaric Ode which was published in 1757. Gray was self-critical and this is why he didn’t write much. His published content include only thirteen poems but all his poems were hugely popular. He gained so much popularity that in 1757, he was offered the post of Poet Laureate of England, which he refused. Gray considered his Pindaric odes as his best work. However, these were the poems in which the poet writes while considering the sentiments of the audience. Samuel Johnson commented on Gray’s Elegy written in Country Churchyard and said, "I rejoice to concur with the common reader ... The Church-yard abounds with images which find a mirror in every mind, and with sentiments to which every bosom returns an echo".
Ode on the Spring:
Ode on The Spring was the first published poem by Thomas Gray. It was published in 1747. This poem is made up of five stanzas with ten lines in each. The rhyming scheme of each of the stanzas is ABABCCDEED.
Stanza 1 Lines 1-10
“Lo! where the rosy-bosomed Hours, Fair Venus' train, appear, Disclose the long-expecting flowers, And wake the purple year! The Attic warbler pours her throat, Responsive to the cuckoo's note, The untaught harmony of spring: While, whisp'ring pleasure as they fly, Cool Zephyrs thro' the clear blue sky Their gathered fragrance fling.”
The poem is all about Spring and its beauties and wonders that it brings to the world. The first stanza speaks of the beautiful sunrises, the flowers blossoming, the birds singing and flying, and a great smell in the air. This stanza is marked by both neo-classical characteristics and the romantic temper of the poet. The time of spring is personified as the “rosy-bosom’d Hours” which are regarded as the attendants of Venus. The winds and the breezes have been personified as Zephyrs (that is, the followers of Zephyrus, the god of winds). The Nightingale is described as “the Attic warbler”, and this is an example of poetic diction.
Stanza 2 Lines 11-20
“Where'er the oak's thick branches stretch A broader browner shade, Where'er the rude and moss-grown beech O'er-canopies the glade, Beside some water's rushy brink With me the Muse shall sit, and think (At ease reclined in rustic state) How vain the ardour of the Crowd, How low, how little are the Proud, How indigent the Great!”
The second stanza is about sitting next to a bank during the season. In this stanza, the poet addresses his Muse and suggests how he and his Muse will cherish the natural pleasantries of the season while they (poet and the Muse) also meditate upon the smallness and insignificance of the people in the city who feel proud of themselves, and upon the extreme poverty of those persons who think themselves to be very rich and exalted.
Stanza 3 Lines 21-30
“Still is the toiling hand of Care; The panting herds repose: Yet hark, how through the peopled air The busy murmur glows! The insect-youth are on the wing, Eager to taste the honied spring And float amid the liquid noon: Some lightly o'er the current skim, Some show their gayly-gilded trim Quick-glancing to the sun.”
In the third stanza, the poet speaks of all the insects wanting to pollinate. It appears as nature poetry as the poet describes the beauty of the scene. He observes and describes the sounds coming from the insects which are passing through the prime of their existence, and which are fluttering their wings as they fly about through the air. These insects are eager to taste the sweetness of the flowers that bloom during this season (namely spring). These insects fly in a leisurely manner on the surface of some brook at noon-time.
Stanza 4 Lines 31-40
“To Contemplation's sober eye Such is the race of Man: And they that creep, and they that fly, Shall end where they began. Alike the Busy and the Gay But flutter thro' life's little day, In Fortune's varying colours drest: Brushed by the hand of rough Mischance, Or chilled by Age, their airy dance They leave, in dust to rest.”
The fourth stanza goes back to him thinking about the season. He wonders about these wonderful insects and how they will end. All these insects are dressed in the different colors with which Fate has endowed them. Some of these insects shall get killed by an accidental blow from someone, and some of them shall die a natural death in due course. These flying insects would ultimately cease their movements through the air and would end their existence to rest on the ground below where they would mingle with the dust.
Stanza 5 Lines 41-50
“Methinks I hear, in accents low, The sportive kind reply: Poor moralist! and what art thou? A solitary fly! Thy joys no glittering female meets, No hive hast thou of hoarded sweets, No painted plumage to display: On hasty wings thy youth is flown; Thy sun is set, thy spring is gone - We frolic while 'tis May.”
The fifth stanza covers all the stanzas comparing himself and others like him to flies. He wondered about the fate of insects and now the poet contemplates what might be the answer of those insects. This is what the insects have to the poet, “You are a miserable preacher delivering sermons to others. What are you yourself? You are no better than a lonely fly. You have no woman, dressed in bright and shining garments or wearing jewelry, to keep you company and to serve as a source of pleasure to you. You possess no storehouse full of accumulated pleasures from which you can draw any happiness at your will. You have no gaudy garments or showy equipment to display. Your youthful years have already passed, and they have passed in a hurried manner. The years of your prime are over, and thus the spring of your life has already ended while we are still enjoying our spring and are flying about merrily.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
No comments:
Post a Comment