Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard

Term Paper Title	Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard
# of Words	650
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.6

Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

Writing in the 18th century, as is still common today, was based largely on the current
social and political issues.  The idea of writing novels had not yet been realized, so
most of the inspirations for poets and essayists alike, were taken directly from politics,
social happenings, or even religious topics.  The 18th century was unique however
because of the changing views and ensuing turmoil created by a changing workforce
and employment style.  England was on the verge of the Industrial Revolution.  The
revolution had many positive effects, but with every change comes a negative effect as
well.  While the concept of work and means of production were completely reinvented,
the poor common peasant lost his farm and small earnings because he could no longer
compete with the much larger and more efficient factory.  He was then forced to be
employed by the factory in order to support his family.  This transition was seen by
poets as a new topic of issue that could be discussed and analyzed in their writings.
While most authors began to scorn the rich industrial plant owners and the entire
wealthy society, a few remained faithful and devoted to the peasant, by continuing to
write about his struggle in life.
     Thomas Gray is one such poet who stayed to true to his form.  Despite the
current economical situation, he continued to write about peasant life.  His work
depicting such ideology is titled �Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.�   His elegy
describes a poor potter�s field where the bones of many tired souls rest.  Gray depicts
the men who are buried there as having great skill and craft for their particular trade.
These peasants were very important to the economic cycle of every day, as all
peasants are.  They may not have contributed very largely as the nobles had, but their
contributions, as moderate as they were, had a positive effect on the rest of society.
For this reason Gray says that the lower ...

Read entire document