Romantic elements in Gray's "Elegy Written in Country Churchyard"

Thomas Gray is generally and rightly regarded as a transitional figure in 18th century poetry, providing a bridge between the poetic sensibility of his own generation and the Romantic revolution of the future. His work shows the relation between the poetry of the new age and that of the 18th century. Several aspects of his poetry show the trends in the direction of romanticism, but he could never really escape form the spirit of the …

…heroic couplet. The poet employs a simple and slow moving stanza for, which he handles with great skill. A large part of the "Elegy's" appeal and greatness lies, of course, in it's smoothly and meticulously wrought phrasing. This poem is an early symptom of discontent with the Augustan orthodoxy. It is early attempt to establish a freer and wider use of poetic language. It provides in a sense the starting point for the Wordsworthian revolution.