THOMAS GRAY AS A TRANSITIONAL POET
Thomas Gray is the greatest
poet between Milton and Wordsworth. He is called the poetical classic of the
18th century. It is he who has offered some immortal poems to the literature of
his nation. 'An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' is the best example of
it.
Gray is
a great and matchless elegiac poet in the annals of English poetry. He indulged
himself in the luxury of tears. Melancholy is the distinguishing feature of his
poems. His poetry is full of sorrow, suffering, disease and death. As a true
mourner Gray mourns the tragic fate of mankind. He always deals with the
mortality and meaninglessness of human life.His 'ELEGY...' is a sincere song of
mourning. Thus Gray is par excellence a poet of death and mourning.
Thomas
Gray is transitional poet. He showed his merit between the Neo-Classical and
Romantic Age. Thus his position as a classic and as a precursor of Romanticism is established. It is said that he began his career as Classicist but ended as a
Romantic poet.
As a precursor of English Romantic movement Gray had
no sympathy for the conventional verse. He tried to break through the bounds of
the prevailing patterns of poetry. He stood strongly against the bondage of
rules, conventions and customs. He sought and found inspiration in the
literature of the past. He had love for nature, medieval-ism, Hellenism and
melancholy. He had sympathy for the weak and the poor.These all are the
prominent characteristics of the Romantic poetry.
As a great poet Gray showed his metrical
excellence but he never sacrificed sense to sound. He was in the habit of using
antithesis, personification, epigrams,circumlocutions, allegories and compound
words.His poetry is lyrical in form and refined in style. There is musical
virtuosity in his poetry.He avoided the predominant couplet and preferred the
stanza.
Thus
Gray is great, matchless and immortal poet. He wrote poetry with a great degree
of ease and comfort. He will be remembered for ever for his simplicity,
tenderness, human touch and universal feelings. In his poems he attained the
sublimity of Milton
and the harmony of Pope. Thus he holds a singular position in the history of
English poetry.
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