Thomas grey Flashcards
Which two conflicting themes appear in Greys literature?
Neoclassicism vs the gothic
Traditionally, what kind of poem was the ode used for?
How does Grey undermine this literature tradition?
Find quote from ‘Ode On The Spring’ which supports this
Public writing
- poetry which discussed topics of public utility and public spaces
Greys use of the ode has a more inward approach - more personal and intimate
“The untaught language of Spring”
- Grey is referring to Latin, which he champions as the natural language
- the poem is dominated by Latin diction which makes it less accessible to uneducated readers and thus removes the poem from universal and public readership
“Nor all that glisters, gold”
Which poem is this taken from?
What does this tell us about how Grey uses writing?
“Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes”
Grey wrote this poem as a condolence to a friend, Horace Walpole, whose cat died. The death of the cat is adapted into a fable.
Writing is an act of sociability for Grey, a bonding exercise. By referring to Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice Grey touches on a shared cultural reference which both himself and Walpole can identify. The reference taps into a shared understanding of literature and culture and draws the two individuals together
In Grey’s poem ‘Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard’ he inserts his own Epitaph into the narrative
1) give a quote from the Epitaph
2) what effect does the Epitaph have on the narrative?
“Here rests his head upon the lap of the earth”
It disrupts narrative continuity - creates temporal tension as there is a narrative shift towards the future as the Epitaph is written after Greys ‘death’
It also creates a disjunction between Greys authorial voice and the poem as Grey’s poetic voice is undermined by the Epitaph
- I.e Grey refers to himself as ‘he’
How can Greys application of the Epitaph in his poetry be linked with the prose of Richardson and Defoe?
A central theme running through Greys work is the power of language - the words inscribed on the Epitaph enable people to communicate with the dead
- Defoe and Richardson both have similar concepts towards the written words and recognise the power of its voice
I.e Pamela’s obsessive desire to write letters and Crusoe’s journal keeping
“To him the mighty mother did unveil / Her aweful face: The dauntless Child”
Which poem is this taken from?
Who is the male persona?
Who is ‘the mighty mother’ ?
The Progress of a Poesy. A Pindaric Ode
Shakespeare
Mighty mother = Cybele, the roman ‘magna matter’
- goddess of untamed nature
I.e. The goddess of untamed nature revealed her image to Shakespeare, who used the pencil to articulate / refine / control the chaos of nature through verse
“This pencil take (she said)…”
“This pencil take (she said)… Thine too these golden keys, immortal Boy!”
Immortal keys - words are transcendent of death - they have a presence which outlives the author
- consider how the writer is only a medium through which poetry passes (which exists as a force of nature)
