Elegy in a Country Churchyard and Other Selections (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ODE ON A DISTANT PROSPECT OF ETON COLLEGE.1 "AvOpuirof iKavij irp6itaaii; eif To Menander. Ye distant spires, ye antique towers, That crown 3 the wat'ry glade, Where grateful Science still adores Her Henry's 5 holy Shade; And ye,6 that from the stately brow 5 Of Windsor's heights the expanse below Of grove, of lawn, of mead survey, Whose turf, whose shade, whose flowers among Wanders the hoary Thames along7 His silver-winding 8 way. 10 1 " This was the first poem of Gray's that appeared in print. It was published in folio in 1747, and republished with some other odes in 175I when for the first time it attracted attention. It cannot be said to be a very popular poem, perhaps because it is too personal. It seems to lack the apparent spontaneity of the Elegy, and the artistic qualities of the two great odes. However, it expresses very naturally the feelings of a thoughtful and mature man when viewing a scene which recalls the days of his youth " (GosSE). 2 " Because I am a man: a sufficient excuse for being miserable." This was the reply given to the question, " Why are you so miserable ? " 3 Adorn; ornament. 4 "Grateful Science." Cf. Elegy, line 119. 5 Eton College, on the Thames, was founded by Henry VI. in 1440. Shakespeare calls him " holy King Henry." Cf. Gray's comment in The Bard, p. 45, Note 7. The towers of Windsor Castle. 7 In lines 7, 8, the Thames is personified in classic fashion. 8 Note the compound epithet. n Ah happy hills, ah pleasing shade, Ah fields beloved in vain,1 Where once my careless childhood strayed, A stranger yet to pain! I feel the gales, that from ye blow, 15 A momentary bliss bestow, As waving fresh their gladsome wing My weary soul they seem to soothe, And, redolent of joy and you...