Question

In your own words, explain how the poet’s description of trees, beetles, flowers, pastures, and a sunset affects the tone and conveys the central theme of the poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard."

Answer 1

The poem “ Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” explores many themes, the chief of the inevitability of death. Death comes to all human beings, rich or poor, high or low. The poet describes a typical evening scene in the countryside. All the creatures of the woods are making their way to their shelters as the lone farmer walks home with his herd. The poet describes the call of a solitary owl, and the ancient elms and yew trees under which the long-dead country folk are buried. This setting gives the poem a somber tone. By setting his poem at the hour of sunset, Thomas Gray invokes a melancholy mood, which is fitting for a poem that deals with the theme of death. By invoking the image of living beings returning to their rest at sunset and connecting it to the image of the village dead “resting” in the churchyard, Gray shows that death is part of the cycle of nature. In the last stanza he uses the image of the flower that blooms and withers away unseen to show that the farmers’ lives are just as worthy as those of the rich and famous, though they live and die unknown and unpraised.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

Answer: With his description of nature during a typical evening, Thomas Gray contrasts the images of life with those of death.

Step-by-step explanation:

The poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" by Thomas Gray deals with various themes, the most important of which is death. Death is presented as inevitable - it awaits all of us, whether we are rich or poor, high or low. The very setting of the poem gives it a somber tone - the creatures in the woods head towards their shelters, the farmer returns home with the herd. The speaker describes the trees under which country people rest in peace. The tone of the poem is melancholic, which perfectly portrays the theme of death. The image of the farmer and the animals which return to their rest is contrasted to that of the dead buried in the churchyard, which indicates that death is as natural as life.