Scarica Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard di Thomas Gray: vita, opere e temi e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! Thomas Gray Life and works Thomas Gray was born in London. He was educated at Eton where he met Horace Walpole, son of the great Prime Minister Robert Walpole Together they toured France and Italy for about three years. Gray returned to England and settled in Cambridge, where he lived the rest of his life. In 1751, his friend Walpole helped him publish Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, which soon became very popular. Gray published more poems in Odes in 1757. The Bard and The Progress of Poesy reflect Gray's interest in Celtic and Icelandic mythology and English literary history. He was offered the position of Poet Laureate but declined. In 1768 he became Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge, where he died in 1771. A poet of transition He was considered one of Europe's greatest scholars. His interest in simple and primitive culture, as well as in country life and humble people, and his use of the first person singular to express emotions anticipate some of the tendencies of the Romantic movement. In general, Gray is considered a transitional poet because, although he rejected the neoclassical tradition in his choice of content, he was nonetheless linked to it in style, as evidenced by his use of poetic diction. Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Themes In 1742 one of Gray's best friends, Richard West, died. The poet decided to dedicate an Elegy to him. The traditional form of the elegy, which usually laments someone's death, is used by Gray as a vehicle for meditation on universal themes such as human destiny, equality, worldly ambition and humility. Meditative mood The poem opens with the contemplation of a country churchyard at dusk, when the setting sun gives way to darkness. The scene, described through the eyes of the poet, is vividly conveyed through the play of assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia and carefully chosen imagery; the feeling of melancholy created by the atmosphere induces the poet to meditate on the 'rude ancestors', the dead of the village. This thought gives him the opportunity to describe the life of rural people and to reflect on the circumstances that prevented these people from becoming famous. The poet meditates on the value of the grave as a bond, an expression of affection and friendship between the living and the dead. In the final stanzas, the poet's thoughts turn to his own death. In the epitaph that he decides to let be read after his death, he says that he had a melancholic character and a sincere soul and that he now rests with God. A New Sensibility The poem is written in heroic quatrains of ten-syllable lines; almost every stanza is complete in itself. The elegy introduces a new figure of the poet, who is the speaking voice of the poem, no longer the spokesman of city tastes. fashionable. Text Thomas Gray si concentra sulla vita delle persone umili e sulla loro importanza, il che era qualcosa di nuovo. L'elegia inizia con la descrizione della natura e dell'ambientazione nel tempo e nel luogo. Il poeta è la voce parlante e si trova di fronte ad un tramonto. Si trova in un sagrato di campagna perché vuole stare in solitudine per favorire la meditazione. La presenza del tramonto fa capire al lettore che il giorno sta finendo e sta arrivando la notte. Il poeta dice che i contadini hanno finito il loro lavoro, quindi stanno tornando a casa; poi descrive il sagrato e si concentra su ciò che lo circonda. Riflette sullo stato delle tombe che lo circondano: sono estremamente semplici, senza alcun segno identificativo di chi giace al loro interno; c'è solo un piccolo pianto vicino alla tomba e nessun altro elemento distintivo. Il poeta analizza il modo in cui vivono i contadini, soffermandosi sul fatto che le persone sepolte non potranno più godere dei piaceri della vita perché morte (il poeta usa un tono malinconico); poi pone un paragone tra le tombe semplici delle persone umili, che sono accompagnate solo dal dolore e dalle lacrime dei loro familiari, e le tombe ben decorate delle persone importanti. Il poeta acquista un tono evocativo e chiede al lettore e ai potenti dell'epoca di non disprezzare le persone umili solo Thomas Gray focuses on the lives of humble people and their importance, which was something new. The elegy begins with a description of nature and the setting in time and place. The poet is the speaking voice and stands in front of a sunset. He is in a country churchyard because he wants to be in solitude to encourage meditation. The presence of the sunset makes the reader realise that the day is ending and night is coming. The poet says that the peasants have finished their work, so they are going home; then he describes the churchyard and focuses on his surroundings. He reflects on the state of the graves that surround him: they are extremely plain, without any identifying marks of those who lie within them; there is only a small cry near the grave and no other distinguishing features. The poet analyses the way in which peasants live, dwelling on the fact that the people buried will no longer be able to enjoy the pleasures of life because they are dead (the poet uses a melancholic tone); he then draws a comparison between the simple graves of humble people, which are accompanied only by the grief and tears of their relatives, and the well-decorated graves of important people. The poet acquires an evocative tone and asks the reader and the powerful of the
