“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” by Thomas Gray is a melancholy poem that considers the possibility of immortality for those buried in the cemetery visited by the speaker. Although earlier sections of the poem explore different ideas, such as the speaker's remorse for those who have spent their earthly lives ignobly and seemingly inconsequentially, "Elegy" ends with five strong quatrains and the epitaph, which emphasize the Gray's belief in the (at least figurative) immortality of the dead. The other seemingly unrelated themes of the poem seem related to the main theme of life after death. Finally, the poem considers the nature of the speaker's immortality as a possibility in either a physical or figurative sense. Ultimately, “Elegy” argues that the dead seem to live and achieve a kind of immortality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay For the first twelve quatrains of the poem, the speaker seems content to lament the presence of death which cancels out all the small pleasures of the life. . Dark adjectives such as "solemn," "humble," and "fleeting" permeate his descriptions of death and emphasize the simple, pleasant experiences of everyday life: "For them the blazing hearth will burn no more, nor the busy housewife will not spend her evening. no child runs to lisp his father's return, nor climbs on his knees to share the envied kiss” (21-24). The speaker in this section highlights not immortality, but the fragility and transience of human existence. Gray's purpose in doing this seemingly goes against the idea of ​​immortality. On the contrary, the speaker glorifies life and urges the reader to appreciate even its trivialities and savor every moment on earth. The inevitable destiny of man is also underlined, with the speaker particularly noting the social equality present in death: "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, and all this beauty, all this wealth always given, await also the inevitable hour: The paths of glory lead only to the grave” (33-36). The next section of the work, consisting of eight quatrains, concerns the little-known achievements of those buried in the cemetery, as well as the potential greatness that died with them. Here again, the grim reality of death seems to be the focus – the speaker is, once again, preoccupied with the ephemeral physical world and gives little thought to any sort of "immortality", other than is perhaps to mourn its impossibility: "The applause of the senators listening, The threats of pain and ruin to be scorned, To disperse abundance on a smiling earth, And read their story in the eyes of a nation, Their fate forbidden: .. (61-65) The poem's continued emphasis on the melancholic aspects of temporary earthly life is once again anything but indicative of the final theme of the "Elegy." Gray continues to point out the lack of any sort of fame or "immortality" that the deceased people buried around the cemetery possess due to their lack of notable achievements. For the speaker, the fact that none of their actions were ever great enough to be acclaimed is what robbed them of their immortality, or perhaps "killed" them. It is only in death that these people are remarkable, and then only as remarkable as the ornaments that adorn their graves: "Yet even these bones, from insult to protection, some frail memorial still erected nearby, with crude rhymes and ornate shapeless sculptures, beg for passing homage. with a sigh” (77-80). This section highlights, 57(1), 61-82.