Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
by Thomas Gray
Widely considered t be Gray's masterpiece, 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' has remained popular even as the poets other works have ceased to be widely read. The poise of its depictions and the universality of the emotions it evokes ensure that it is considered one of the finest poetic renderings of grief ever written in English. Curiously, it is actually closer to an ode than a traditional elegy.
