Thomas Gray (1) (1716–1771)
Author of Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
For other authors named Thomas Gray, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Author of An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1747), Thomas Gray was born in London in 1716. He was educated at Eton, the inspiration for his An Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College (1747), and Cambridge. Except for a tour of the Continent, taken in part with friend Horace Walpole, he show more spent most of his life in Cambridge, where he became professor of history and modern languages in 1768. He died in 1768 and is buried at Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, the home of his mother and the inspiration for his famous elegy. (Bowker Author Biography) Author of An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1747), Thomas Gray was born in London in 1716. He was educated at Cambridge and Eton, the inspiration for his An Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College (1747). Except for a tour of the Continent, taken in part with friend Horace Walpole, he spent most of his life in Cambridge, where he became a professor of history and modern languages in 1768. Gray was an extremely shy, almost reclusive person. His nature was scholarly, and he sought perfection in everything he did. He did not write much poetry, but what he did finish is of such high quality that he is sometimes considered the most important figure in English poetry between Pope and Blake. His Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751) has long been one of the supremely popular poems in the English language, rivaling any poem ever written for quotable lines. Gray's language is extremely formal, often archaic. Much influenced by the Greek and Roman poets, as well as Dryden, Gray later turned to Norse mythology for thematic material. The Progress of Poesy (1757) and The Bard (1757) contributed to the revival of the ode form, especially among the romantics. His letters have long been admired as among the best in the English language. Wordsworth regarded his Hymn to Adversity (1742) as a masterpiece. He died in 1768 and is buried at Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, the home of his mother and the inspiration for his famous elegy. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Thomas Gray
Selected Poems of Thomas Gray, Charles Churchill and William Cowper (Penguin Classics) (1998) 18 copies
An Elegy In A Country Churchyard And Other Poems / The Deserted Village, The Traveler And Other Poems. (1907) 5 copies
Elegy written in a country church-yard,: And other poems, (The Riverside literature series. [no. 74]) (1895) 3 copies
Poetry and Prose 2 copies
The Complete Poems of Thomas Gray 2 copies
Poems of Thomas Gray, With Watercolour Illustrations By William Blake; Blake's Illustrations to the Poems of Gray (2013) 2 copies
Gray's English Poems: Original, and Translated From the Norse and Welsh (Classic Reprint) (2015) 1 copy
Poems by Thomas Gray, LL.B. containing odes, epitaphs, elegy, &c. &c. With the life of the author. (2010) 1 copy
Longmans' English Classic. Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, and Other Poems, Oliver Goldsmith's the… (2017) 1 copy
Poems published in 1768 1 copy
Poems by Mr. Gray. 1 copy
Gray's Elegy and Odes 1 copy
Letters (3 volumes) 1 copy
English Odes 1 copy
Odes by Mr. Gray 1 copy
The poems of Gray, and Jago 1 copy
Associated Works
The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Robert Frost (2004) — Contributor — 1,042 copies
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (1995) — Contributor, some editions — 915 copies
The Sophisticated Cat: A Gathering of Stories, Poems, and Miscellaneous Writings About Cats (1992) — Contributor — 99 copies
English Verse: Volume 3: The Eighteenth Century: Swift to Crabbe (Penguin Classics) (1995) — Contributor — 11 copies
Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard and Other Poems; The Diverting History of John Gilpin and Other Poems (Macmillan… (1920) — Contributor, some editions — 2 copies
Anthology of Romanticism Volume Two: Selections From The Pre-Romantic Movement — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Gray, Thomas
- Other names
- The English Pindar
- Birthdate
- 1716-12-26
- Date of death
- 1771-07-30
- Burial location
- Stoke Poges, South Bucks, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Country (for map)
- England, UK
- Birthplace
- Cornhill, London, England, UK
- Place of death
- Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
Cornhill, London, England, UK - Education
- Eton College
Cambridge University (Peterhouse) - Occupations
- poet
classical scholar
professor (modern history; Cambridge) - Organizations
- Inner Temple
- Awards and honors
- Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge (1768)
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 125
- Also by
- 24
- Members
- 842
- Popularity
- #30,364
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 8
- ISBNs
- 74
- Languages
- 3