A comparison of the elegy (eulogy) of Thomas Gray written in a country cemetery and the Thanatopsis of BryantThomas Gray and William Cullen Both Bryant chose to write about the intertwining of nature and death. . Thomas Gray lived in a time of social injustice and chose to use death to illustrate the problems inherent in a socially stratified society. William Cullen Bryant, on the other hand, lived in a young, growing nation that cherished vast expanses of untouched nature, and he used death to illustrate how man fits into the universal truth of the earth. However, both men believed that death made all men equal in that all went to their final resting place within Mother Nature. While Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" appears as a social commentary on English peasants and Bryant's "Thanatopsis" serves as a catalog of American romantic beliefs, both believe in listening to nature, that death makes all men equal, and that man returns to nature after death. To compare the similarity of the minor themes of the poem, one must first understand the differences of their major themes. “Elegy” differs greatly from “Thanatopsis” because they come from very different times and countries. Gray wrote “Elegy” in 18th-century England after the death of a friend of his. Influenced by English romantics like Gray, Bryant, who spent much of his time in nature, wrote "Thanatopsis" to praise the splendor of nature. “Elegy” appears at first to be solely about death, but appears as a social commentary on the plight of the poor. Gray first explains how commoners enjoyed the simple life of working in the fields and enjoying their families while "Chill Penury" held them back from gr...... middle of paper ...... Brady, Frank. "Structure and Meaning in Gray's Elegy" Elegy by Thomas Gray written in a country cemetery. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 7-17. Carper, Thomas. "Gray's Personal Elegy" Thomas Gray's elegy written in a country cemetery. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 39-50. Lonsdale, Roger. "Thomas Gray's Poetry: Versions of the Self" Elegy by Thomas Gray written in a country cemetery. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 19-38. McLean, Albert. William Cullen Bryant. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1964. 65-81. Smith, Eric. "Elegy written in a country cemetery" Elegy by Thomas Gray written in a country cemetery. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 51-67. Peckham, Harry Houston. Gotham Yankee. New York: Russell and Russell, 1971. 31-35.