ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -He is widely known for his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, published in 1751.

Detailed explanation-2: -Thomas Gray, (born Dec. 26, 1716, London-died July 30, 1771, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Eng.), English poet whose “An Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard” is one of the best known of English lyric poems.

Detailed explanation-3: -As a great poet Gray showed his metrical excellence but he never sacrificed sense to sound. He was in the habit of using antithesis, personification, epigrams, circumlocutions, allegories and compound words. His poetry is lyrical in form and refined in style. There is musical virtuosity in his poetry.

Detailed explanation-4: -Gray is considered as a transitional poet because he introduced in his poetry some of the new themes that were to characterise the Early Romantic Age. Two of the most relevant are: the simple country life and humble village people.