Criticism

Navigation for the criticism page:

• Research materials
• Teaching materials

Research materials

• Contemporary criticism and discussions
  • "Critical Observations", in: The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray. London: J. Sharpe, 1826, pp. vii-xxx.
  • Johnson, Samuel: "The Life of Gray" (1781) [e-text], from The Lives of the Poets, ed. G.B. Hill, 3 vols., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905, e-text ed. by Jack Lynch, Rutgers University.
  • Mason, William: "Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Mr. Gray" (1775), in: The Poems of Mr. Gray. To which are prefixed Memoirs of his Life and Writings, ed. by William Mason. York: printed by A. Ward; and sold by J. Dodsley, London; and J. Todd, York, 1775, pp. 1-404.
  • Mathias, Thomas James: Observations on the writings and on the character of Mr. Gray (1815). London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1815.
  • Mitford, John: "Essay on the Poetry of Gray", in: The Works of Thomas Gray, 2 volumes, ed. by John Mitford. London: J. Mawman, 1816, vol. i, pp. xci-clxxvi.
  • Murray, John: A Letter to W. Mason, A.M. precentor of York, concerning his edition of Mr. Gray's Poems. And the Practices of Booksellers (1777). London: J. Murray, 1777. See also John Murray's edition of Poems by Mr. Gray (1776).
  • "A Short Account of the Life and Writings of Mr. Gray", in: Poems by Mr. Gray. London: J. Murray, 1776, pp. v-xviii.
  • "Some Account of the Life and Writings of Mr. Thomas Gray", in: The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray, LL.B., ed. by Stephen Jones. London: C. Whittingham, 1800, pp. xvii-xlix.
  • Wordsworth, William: "Preface to Lyrical Ballads" (1802) [e-text], e-text ed. by Michael Gamer, University of Pennsylvania.
  • Young, John: A Criticism on the Elegy written in a Country Church Yard. Being a continuation of Dr. J[ohnso]n's Criticism On The Poems Of Gray (1783). London: G. Wilkie, 1783.
• Current criticism and discussions
  • Cooper, David et al.: "Thomas Gray's 'Journal of his Tour in the Lake District' (1769)", part of Mapping the Lakes: A Literary GIS, Department of English & Creative Writing, Bowland College, Lancaster University [discussion of Gray's Journal of A Visit to the Lake District in 1769]
  • Cummings, Michael J.: "Elegy Written In a Country Churchyard." By Thomas Gray (1716-1771), A Study Guide, part of Cummings Study Guides, ed. by Michael J. Cummings [discussion of the "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"]
  • Fabbri, Andrea: "«In Sì Periglioso Aringo»: Giovanni Ghinassi Traduce L'Elegy Di Thomas Gray" [PDF]. Thomas Gray Archive, 2012 [discusses Giovanni Ghinassi's translation of the "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"]
  • Jackson, Wallace: "Thomas Gray (1716-1771)", published by Poetry Foundation, Chicago, Illinois [contains a biography and discussion of the major poems]
  • Nordby, Conrad Hjalmar: The Influence of Old Norse Literature on English Literature [e-text]. New York: Columbia University Press, 1901, pp. 6ff. [discussion of "The Fatal Sisters" / "The Descent of Odin" (Norse Odes)]
  • Radcliffe, David H.: "Thomas Gray (1716-1771)", in Spenser and the Tradition: English Poetry 1579-1830, ed. by David H. Radcliffe, Virginia Tech [includes annotated poems, contemporary criticism and biographies, reference materials, and criticism by Gray on various subjects]
  • Scodel, Joshua: The English Poetic Epitaph: Commemoration and Conflict from Jonson to Wordsworth [e-text excerpts]. Ithaca; London: Cornell University Press, 1991, pp. 312-331, 352-365 [discussion of the "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"]
  • Wikipedia contributors: "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia [discussion of the "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"]
  • Wikiversity contributors: "Lectures/Literary criticism/Thomas Gray/Elegy's influence" at Wikiversity [discussion of the "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"]
  • Wilson, James A. J.: "The Orator, the Prophet, and the Bard: Three Eighteenth-Century Poetic Voices". BSECS Conference Paper 2005 [discussion of "The Bard. A Pindaric Ode"]
  • Zionkowski, Linda: "Gray, the marketplace, and the masculine poet". In: Criticism 35(4) (1993), pp. 589-608, e-text available at Find Articles at BNET

Teaching materials

• Syllabi and course materials
  • Hunt, Russell A.: Thomas Gray Forum, part of Restoration and Eighteenth Century Poetry and Prose (English 3336) at the Department of English Language and Literature, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
  • Koster, Josephine: Thomas Gray (1716-1771), part of Major British Writers Before 1800 (English 201) at the Department of English, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC, USA
  • Lane, Steven M.: Poetry of Transition, part of A Survey of British Literature from the Restoration to the Twentieth Century (English 201) at the Department of English, Malaspina University-College, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
  • Liu, Kate Chiwen: "Ode On The Death Of A Favourite Cat Drowned In A Tub Of Goldfishes" - Leading Questions, part of a Introduction to Literature course at the Department of English Language and Literature, Fu Jen Catholic University, Hsinchuang, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan, Republic of China
  • Lynch, Jack: English Pre-Romantics (English 317) at the Department of English, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, USA
  • Runge, Laura L.: Reading Assignment: Thomas Gray, "An Elegy Wrote in a Country Churchyard" (1751) and "The Progress of Poesy" (1768), part of British Literature 1616-1780 (English 3230) at the Department of English, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA