Poem 10 An Elegy Written In a Country Churchyard

10.AN ELEGY WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD

1.What is meant by Elegy? Describe the main idea of the poem “An Elegy Written In a Country Churchyard”?

Ans)A special kind of poem, which expresses the grief for one who is dead, is called “Elegy”. In this poem the people wants to convey the message that that death is an ultimate reality and most powerful and most beautiful or rich and wealthy. The dead people must be remembered and an arrangement should be made for a prayer for those innocent and simple people who die unknown and unsung.

2.Why does the poem use the symbol of a beetle in his poem?

Ans)The poet uses the symbol of a beetle to describe the darkness and deep grief. He wants to tell that the calm atmosphere of the graveyard makes his mind empty from the beautiful and natural senses of the village. He only hears the sound of humming of a beetle as he flies. He also hears the sounds of the bells round the necks of sheep, which break the silence of his mind.

2.Why does the poet say that an owl screams in order to complain?

Ans)The poet uses symbol of an owl to show the darkness and silence in the atmosphere of the graveyard. As the poet stands in the graveyards and thinks about the past of the dead people, he breaks the silence and produces a vibration in the calm atmosphere of the graveyard. Therefore, he says that an owl screams on the tower covered with ivy in complaining to the noon for disturbing his silence and peace by a visitor near his secret bower.

3.What is the idea of poet about death in the poem “An Elegy Written In a Country Churchyard”?

Ans)The poet considers death as an ultimate reality. It is the end of the eventful history of everything. He conveys a message that those people who think themselves the most powerful or those who are toxicated by their beauty and wealth all must die one day. Even the person who leads very splendid life, death is their final destination and their final home is only grave.

4.Why does the poet think that honor’s voice and flattery words are useless for the dead people in graveyard?

Ans)The poet thinks that the remaining traces and the events preserved in memory have no power to bring the dead people back to their life. The words are spoken in their honor or the flattery words which are spoken in their praise cannot convert the coldness of death into the heat of life. We can only pay a tribute to these dead people through the manner.

5.Why does the poet think that some great men remain like the gems in sea and flowers in a desert?

Ans)The poet describes a truth that there are numerous precious and beautiful gems of high quality at the bottom of the deep sea. Man has no access to them and they lie there unnoticed. No one knows about their worth. Similarly, many beautiful flowers with their sweetness only bloom in a desert and die away unseen because there is none to praise their beauty. Just in the same way, the poet says, among the dead persons who lie buried in the churchyard, there may b many that had great talents but unluckily they got no chance to show their skills and merits and they passed away without being recognized by anybody. Thus, that great man remained like the gens in sea and flowers in a desert.

6.How does the poet consider the life of dead persons in the churchyard during their period of life?

Ans)The poet considers, the life of those persons who are lying dead in their graves in the churchyard was peaceful and brilliant. They passed their life with moderation in simple joy far away from the noisy and discontent city life. They never indented to do any harm to anyone. They lived in a small village, which was noiseless, free from pollution and full with natural scenes of beauty.