Gray and Foscolo's ideas of death

GRay and foscolo's ideas of death

Student: Marco Bevilacqua Class: 4°I

Date: 01/05/2021

"Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air."

Thomas Gray

Index

Gray's life

Elegy

Gray's idea

Comparison

Personal opinion

Foscolo's idea

Thomas Gray's life

Thomas Gray was born in London in 1716 in Cornhill. He lived with his mother after she left her violent husband. He studied at Eton College where he met Horace Walpole with whom he travelled all around Europe. Despite the fact he was one of the most important author of the 18th century he wrote very few works, all of them don't reach 1000 lines. The most important theme for Grey was death. His most famous poem is "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard".

Elegy Written in a country churchyard

This poem is divided into 3 parts:

• The lament for a dead person, his best friend
• Reflection about the transitoriety of life
• The mood of consolation

The poem opens with a contemplation of a country churchyard at twilight and continues with a focus on the life of poor people and the levelling power of death. In the end Gray imagines his death and his own funeral. In this poem the author uses 4 lines and alternates rhyme stanzas of iambic pentameters.

Thomas Gray's idea of death

Thomas Gray's attitude toward death is that everyone faces the same end, regardless of their social importance. Indeed he compares the humbleness of poor people with the great careers from which fate excluded them. He also considers that the poverty might have prevented poor people from committing crimes and falling victims of luxury, pride and corruption. However, more importantly, is the kind of life that lead people into Heaven. While all may die, not all will go to Heaven. Heaven, for Gray, conquers death.

Foscolo's idea of death

Foscolo sees death as a moment of truth for man, who finds himself in his intimate dimension where he can see his inner self.But death isn't necessary a bad thing, in fact, it can be the quiet and serene destination to arrive after crossing the ​​life. So the death can be the end of all sufferings.The poet is an atheist, he does not recognize a life after death and does not believe it continues. This leads him to develop a deep attachment to the tomb, which becomes the symbol of a personal and family memory that helps overcome the pain of eternal absence.

Differencees between the two ideas

Foscolo

Gray

• Concentrates on the grave as a link between dead people and their actions and memories related to them in life.

• He doesn't think there is something after death

• Thinks that death can be the end of a suffered life

• Interested in humble country people

• Believes in the levelling power of death

• Thinks that people after death can go to Heaven or Hell

Similarities

• Both of them think that everyone faces themselves and their actions when they die.
• They think about their own death.

Personal opinion on death

I agree with some ideas of both Gray and Foscolo.I think that after death there is nothing else, but in some way you will be alive in the memories of other people. Going on, as Gray says, both poor and rich people have the same ending, death. So I think that if you are poor or rich you must do good things and help other people, but not because you want to go to Heaven after death, but simply because you want help other people.

Thanks for your attention