The English poet Thomas Gray (1716-1771) expressed deep and universal human feelings in forms derived from Greek and Roman literature. Although his output was small, he introduced new subject matter for poetry. Thomas Gray was born on Dec. 26, 1716, of m...

Thomas Gray is generally considered the second most important poet of the eighteenth century (following the dominant figure of Alexander Pope) and the most disappointing. It was generally assumed by friends and readers that he was the most talented poet...

Thomas Gray is generally considered the second most important poet of the eighteenth century (following the dominant figure of Alexander Pope) and the most disappointing. It was generally assumed by friends and readers that he was the most talented poet...

Mowing our churchyard is a tricky business, for it lies on the side of a steep hill. Moreover, the sloping turf is dotted with nearly 70 tombstones, memorial slabs, rectangular enclosures and lesser structures, so that as you cut the grass you are forever...

In his edition of the poetry of Gray, Collins, and Goldsmith, Roger Lonsdale cites two possible sources for "The Epitaph" at the end of Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" (lines 117-28)--Mallet's "The Excursion" and Hammond's "Elegy" (Gray 138-39). I should like...