EXERCISE ON “ELEGY WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD” Open Book:
While doing this exercise, use the selection “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”from the Prose and Poetry of England textbook, including the paragraphs that introduce it and the footnotes.
You also may use the “Glossary of Literature Terms” and the “Glossary of Poetic Terms” in the Course Manual, as well as a dictionary and thesaurus. Any other notes or resources may not be used.
Instructions:
Answer in complete sentences in third person, present tense, using correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Brief quotes may be used as support, but unless otherwise stated in the question, answers should be primarily in your own words. [Copying from the Internet or plagiarism will result in a failing grade.]
Short Answer (100 points total)
1. The first three stanzas are introductory.
They are rich in sensory detail and designed to set the mood of the poem.
a. In your own words, describe a sound the poet depicts in these stanzas. (5 points)
b. Describe one of the sights. (5 points)
2. Notice the description of the cemetery. Of what is the “narrow cell” a metaphor? (5 points)
3. What two kinds of trees grow in the cemetery? (5 points)
4. In the fifth stanza, use your own words to describe a sound the poet depicts. (5 points)
5. How do most of the humble villagers earn their living? (5 points)
6. Lines 33-36 contain one of the central lessons of the poem. According to these lines, what inevitable earthly reality will all people, rich or poor, experience? (5 points)
7. Gray’s poem contains a wistful sadness about earthly life and death. How is a Catholic, in the state of grace, able to view death in a joyful way? (5 points)
8. What do Catholics know about the link between a humble, virtuous life on Earth and a rich one in eternity? (5 points)
9.What do Catholics know about the link between a humble, virtuous life on Earth and a rich one in eternity? (5 points)
10. In lines 53-56, what point is the poet making through the metaphors of the gem and the flower? (5 points)
11. According to the seventeenth stanza, the lack of fame and opportunity may have afforded the humble what possible blessing? (5 points)
12. Which words alliterate in line 88? (5 points)
