Thomas Gray
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Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771), was an English poet, classical scholar and professor at Cambridge University. He began seriously writing poems in 1742, mainly after his close friend Richard West died. He moved to Cambridge and began a self-imposed programme of literary study, becoming one of the most learned men of his time, though he claimed to be lazy by inclination. He became a Fellow first of Peterhouse, and later of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Gray spent most of his life as a scholar in Cambridge, and only later in his life did he begin travelling again. Although he was one of the least productive poets (his collected works published during his lifetime amount to less than 1,000 lines), he is regarded as the predominant poetic figure of the mid-18th century. In 1757, he was offered the post of Poet Laureate, which he refused. In 1768, he succeeded Lawrence Brockett as Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge, a sinecure.

Gray was so self critical and fearful of failure that he only published 13 poems during his lifetime, and once wrote that he feared his collected works would be "mistaken for the works of a flea." Walpole said that "He never wrote anything easily but things of Humour." It is believed that Gray wrote his masterpiece, the Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, in the graveyard of the church in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire in 1750. The poem was a literary sensation when published by Robert Dodsley, one of the foremost publishers of the day, in February 1751 and has made a lasting contribution to English literature. Its reflective, calm and stoic tone was greatly admired, and it was pirated, imitated, quoted and translated into Latin and Greek. It is still one of the most popular poems in the English language. This meditative poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" is also probably the most quoted poem in the English language. Gray's poetry illustrates the evolution of 18th century English poetry from Classicism to early Romanticism. Before the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (also known as the "Battle of Quebec", British General James Wolfe is said to have recited it to his officers, adding: "Gentlemen, I would rather have written that poem than take Quebec tomorrow". The poem's famous depiction of an "ivy-mantled tow'r" could be a reference to the early-mediaeval St. Laurence's Church in Upton, Slough, England.

The Elegy was recognised immediately for its beauty and skill. It contains many outstanding phrases which have entered the common English lexicon, either on their own or as referenced in other works. A few of these include: "Far from the madding crowd", "The paths of glory", "Celestial fire", "The unlettered muse", "Kindred spirit", "Some mute inglorious Milton".

Gray also wrote light verse, such as Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes, a mock elegy concerning Horace Walpole's cat. Gray’s surviving letters also show his sharp observation and playful sense of humour. He is also well known for his statement that "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise," from his 1742 Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College.

Monument inscribed with the Elegy in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshir,England
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Thomas Gray

The Hours by Maria Cosway(1760-1838),
an illustration to Gray's poem Ode on the Spring, referring to the first two lines of the poem
"Lo! where the rosy-bosomed Hours, / Fair Venus' train, appear."
(This work of art is in the public domain.)

Thomas Gray's Bust in terra cotta by John Bacon (1740-1799)
(This work of art is in the public domain.)

The Elegy's famous depiction of an "ivy-mantled tow'r" could be a reference to the
early-mediaeval St. Laurence's Church in Upton, Slough, England。
(Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the
GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2)

Thomas Gray as sitter in 1747 holding the MS of the Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College
(This work of art is in the public domain.)

Tomb of Thomas Gray in Stoke Poges Churchyard。
It is believed that Gray wrote his masterpiece, the Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, in the graveyard of the church in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire in 1750
(The work has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder.)