ENGLISH 1C06 Lecture : History of English Literature Jan.3 "Thomas Gray"
6 Mar 2012
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Thomas gray elegy writing in a country churchyard. Codary publication: circulation of manuscript within a small circle of friends. Movement between scribal culture and publishing culture. Opening lines sets the tone for the entire work; foreshadowing of what is to come: The curfew tolls the knell of parting day: knell = bells symbol of schedule, but also of death, signifier of death. >death emerges [the death of the day,] Timeline: begins with the closing of the day, closing of the work day, the end. Trope : night as death (proto-gothic: predates "scary stories") Sound replaces sight: attempting to recreate sounds within the language of the poem, tinkling, droning, moping owl . Emphasis on solitude, isolation, melancholy (contrast of the herds vs. solitary creatures, owl, writer) even the owl is complaining about his presence. Subjectivity: presupposed by the idea that each person is a deep coherent self unto himself.
