Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard Essay -- Literary Analysis, Gray

The Declaration of Independence contains a snippet about the equality of men a topic interesting to 18th century authors. The speakers in Grays Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard and in goldsmiths The Deserted Village utilize the themes of death and isolation in order to represent the different social classes. Goldsmiths speaker idealizes and mourns the tumble of rural life, while Grays speaker equalizes the different classes. . This essay examines the difference between these two depictions and shows how Grays use of stylistic features creates a more convincing argument. Goldsmiths speaker begins nostalgically for the loveliest colony of the plain, (1) by listing the towns virtues which include The never-failing brook, the busy mill, The decent church . (11-12) Goldsmith uses this imagery to contrast the current state of the village, he goes on to say that These were thy charmsBut all these charms are fled. (34) Here, the speaker urges readers to admonish the loss of the villages charms by destroying the imagery created by the first 33 lines. He continues the description of the land as forlorn (76), but while the villagers were forced to renounce the area, the speakers nostalgia implies that he chose to leave. This nostalgia implies that the speakers depiction of the village could be highly romanticized. The speaker likens the loss of the village with a much great problem, The country bloomsa garden, and a grave. (302) He suggests that this is not an isolated problem, but an epidemic that is happening all over the country. The village is lost to make direction for a garden and a grave the first belongs to the nobility and the later to the peasant. His portrayal of the New World supports th... ...dsmith seems to associate with the nobility. He goes on to speak of richesiness saying This wealth is but a name That leaves our useful products still the same. (273-274) The use of enjambment forces the reader to quickly read over wealth, the e ffect makes wealth seem less important which mimics the actual words themselves, thus Goldsmith suggests that wealth is of very little importance in life. Both speakers advocate a respect for the rural class, while Grays speaker does it by likening the greats to the common men Goldsmith uses hyperbole to lessen the appeal of the fastness class. Grays work is succinct and contains many stylistic elements that encourage readers to see social classes as transparent and not as limiting. Goldsmith portrays the velocity class as the death of rural life, whereas Grays speaker portrays the classes as not being mutually exclusive.