Question

Which line best demonstrates Personification in "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard?"

Ob
C
d
Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid / Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire;
Forbade to wade through slaughter to a throne, / And shut the gates of mercy on mankind,
Approach and read (for thou canst read) the lay, / Grav'd on the stone beneath yon aged thorn."
The plowman homeward plods his weary way, / And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

Answer 1

The line from 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' that best demonstrates personification is 'The plowman homeward plods his weary way, / And leaves the world to darkness and to me,' as it attributes human qualities to the world.

Step-by-step explanation:

The line that best demonstrates personification in "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" is "The plowman homeward plods his weary way, / And leaves the world to darkness and to me." This line attributes human qualities to the world, suggesting that it is capable of being left to someone, as a person might be. Personification is a literary device where human characteristics are given to non-human entities, and this line from Thomas Gray's elegy suggests that the world can possess and be passed on, evoking a sense of companionship or ownership typically associated with human interactions.

Answer 2

The line from 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' demonstrating personification is 'Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid / Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire;'. The heart is described as being filled with divine inspiration, a human quality, suggesting once vibrant lives now forgotten.

Step-by-step explanation:

Personification in Poetry

The line from "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" that best demonstrates personification is "Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid / Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire;" Personification is a literary device where human characteristics are attributed to non-human entities. In this line, a heart (which symbolically represents a person's essence or passion) is described as being 'pregnant with celestial fire,' implying it was once filled with inspired life or divine creativity, a human characteristic. This usage imbues the heart with vitality and potential, despite its current neglected state in the grave. The line is steeped in emotion and assigns a human attribute - the capacity to be filled with fiery inspiration - to a metaphorical heart. It contrasts the forgotten graves with the once vibrant lives of those buried there, suggesting unrecognized potential that once burned like a fire within them.

Other examples of personification can be seen in the poetry of Wordsworth and Keats. Wordsworth's "I wandered lonely as a cloud," for instance, describes daffodils as dancing, a human action, giving them an active, joyful presence. Similarly, Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn" speaks to the urn itself, addressing it as if it could respond, and calling it a 'bride of quietness' and a 'foster-child of silence and slow time.' This gives the inanimate urn qualities of life, silence, and timelessness.