Before Reading Meet Thomas Gray (17716-1771)

FYI Did you know that Thomas Gray . . . • hated math? • is said to have a secret pyrophobia, or fear of fire? • was buried in the cemetery described in his famous Elegy?

In the boisterous Age of Johnson, Thomas Gray was something of an anomaly. He shunned lively public debate and the glare of intellectual celebrity for the gentler pursuit of private study and the company of an intimate circle of friends. The hustle and bustle of London held no attraction for him; he preferred the quiet confines of Cambridge University and solitary walks in the countryside. His medium was lyric poetry rather than satire. He was a shy, introverted, even secretive man who famously lacked ambition. After gaining national acclaim with the publication of Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751), he adamantly refused the offered post of poet laureate and the publicity that came with it. His published body of work numbered less than 1,000 lines. And yet, his lyrical Elegy made him the dominant poet of his time and a precursor of the Romantic Age to come.

Surviving ChildhoodGray was born in London, the only one of 12 brothers and sisters to survive to adulthood. His father, a “money-scrivener” (lender), was violent and abusive, while his longsuffering mother ran a small hat shop to help support the family. A frail but studious child, the young Gray escaped his frightening home life at age 8 when his mother paid for him to attend boarding school at Eton College. Gray thrived at Eton and there developed the reclusive academic habits that remained with him for life.

“Far from the Madding Crowd”While at Eton, Gray met Horace Walpole, the son of the prime minister and a lifelong friend who would later encourage Gray to publish his poems. The young men traveled together on a grand tour of Europe, but their personal differences—Gray’s love of museums and romantic scenery clashing with Walpole’s social interests—led to a bitter falling out that lasted four years. By the time Gray settled in Cambridge in 1742, he had begun writing poetry. But that year his closest friend, Richard West, died at the tender age of 25, plunging Gray into a sadness that pervaded his next poems, especially his popular Elegy. His later poems were not as well received by readers, who found them difficult to understand, and so Gray withdrew from his already minimal public life and even stopped writing poetry. A large inheritance ultimately allowed him to live out his remaining years doing what he liked best—reading in private, writing letters, exploring the English countryside, and spending tranquil hours with friends.

While Reading

Date: 2016-03-03; view: 921

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