Poems Of Graveyard (shelley,gray Unamuno)

Shelley´s “A Summer Evening Churchyard”, Gray´s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” and “En un cementerio de lugar castellano” by Unamuno

Death, as the greatest human truth, is and an excellent topic in poetry, beholded sometimes as a fearful hour, sometimes as the definitive peace. There is a calidoscopic view of these three authors about death and the place where it dwells; the prerromanticism of Gray, the full romanticism of Shelley and the anguish of life of Unamuno.

Shelley stresses the idea of peace and rest that Death provides. As a romantic he makes of Death a magical thing, one more step in the circle of life. Nature plays a very important role; Summer comes before Atumn as Twilight comes before death. Death is the last of the mysteries, the last of the dreams. The whole poem is deeply evocative

“They breathe their spells towards the departing day

Encompassing the earth, air, stars and sea

.../Responding to the charm with its own mistery” (L. 7-10)

Death receives several names; Twilight (5), Obscurest Glen (6) departing day (7) etc. Life is a dream or just an i

There is a sense of solemnity in the poem. If Shelley´s tone was misterious and Unamuno´s deeply religious, Gray´s is a bit of heroic or mythical. His whole vocabulary refers to empires, fallen kingdoms...etc; heraldry (l. 33), paths of glory (l. 36), honour (l. 43), the rod of the empire (l. 47), tyrants (l.58), throne (l. 67).

The greatest difference with the other two poems is the, the allegory, the unreality and the evocation of exotic places. His poem is more abstract; it deals with afterlife rather than death, with flesh, and bones. He wanders not about corporal death but with spiritual life, not about trees or farm animals but with stars, seas and ancient secrets. Maybe he is just more fantastic and Unamuno and Gray are more costumbrist. Unlike them, he feels a true fascination about death.

dormirá para siempre la esperanza!”

Gray´s church is a English countryside one, maybe not that big, perhaps a little town church. Nature plays a more important role in this work than in Shelley´s or Unamuno; he devotes one third of the poem to describe the little village, animals, insects, plants, trees, birds... etc. He relates death to nature; “The cock´s srill clarion (...)/ No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed.” (l. 19-20). He believes death a natural step in the circle of life. It is not a question to think about; birds die, insects die, the herd will also die...

Some topics in this essay:
That´s Shelley´s, Shelley Gray, Sheperd Souls, Miracle Play, Shelley´s Unamuno, Calderón Plato, Gray´s Shelley´s, Tiempo Tiempo, Notre Dame”, Unamuno Gray, de la, el sueño, de los, de los vivos, la elegía eterna, nature plays, circle life, step circle, / de, vision death, unamuno death, eterna poesías 217, elegía eterna poesías, cementerio de, un cementerio de,