There are at least three existing manuscripts of Grays "Elegy," in
the author's autograph. The earliest, containing the largest number
of variations and the most curious, is that now in the possession of
Sir William Fraser in London, and for which he paid the large sum
of £230, in 1875. By the kindness of Sir William Fraser, I examined
this manuscript at his rooms in London, in 1882. A facsimile copy of
this valuable autograph, photographed from the original in 1862, is
now before me. A second copy in the handwriting of Gray, called the
Pembroke manuscript, is in the library of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge. A
facsimile of this autograph appears in Matthias's edition of Mason's
"Gray," published in 1814. A third copy, in the poet's handwriting,
copied by him for his friend, Dr. Wharton, is in the British Museum. I
examined this, also, in 1882, and had an accurate copy made for me by
one of the assistants in the museum. This was written after the other
two, as is evident from the fact that it approaches most nearly to the
form which the "Elegy" finally assumed when printed. There are only
nine or ten expressions in this manuscript which differ from the poem
as published by Gray. Most of these are unimportant. "_Or_" he changed,
in three places, into "and." "_And_ in our ashes" he changed into "Even
in our ashes," which was a clear improvement. It was not until after
this third copy was written that the improvement was made which changed
"Forgive, ye Proud, the involuntary Fault,
If Memory to These no Trophies raise,"
into
"Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault,
If Memory o'er their tomb no trophies raise."
Another important alteration of a single word was also made after this
third manuscript was written. This was the change, in the forty-fifth
stanza, of "Reins of Empire" into "Rod of Empire."
"The Elegy in a Country Churchyard" became at once one of the most
popular poems in the language, and has remained so to this time. It has
been equally a favorite with common readers, with literary men, and
with poets. Its place will always be in the highest rank of English
poetry. The fact, however, is--and it is a very curious fact--that this
first-class poem was the work of a third-class poet. For Thomas Gray
certainly does not stand in the first class with Shakespeare, Spenser,
and Milton. Nor can he fairly be put in the second class with Dryden,
Pope, Burns, Wordsworth, and Byron. He belongs to the third, with
Cowley, Cowper, Shelley, and Keats. There may be a doubt concerning
some of whom I have named, but there can be no doubt that Gray will
never stand higher than those who may be placed by critics in the third
class. Yet it is equally certain that he has produced a first-class
poem. How is this paradox to be explained?
What is the charm of Gray's "Elegy"? The thoughts are sufficiently
commonplace. That all men must die, that the most humble may have had
in them some power which, under other circumstances, might have made
them famous,--these are somewhat trite statements; but the fascination
of the verses consists in the tone, solemn but serene, which pervades
them; in the pictures of coming night, of breaking day, of cheerful
rural life, of happy homes; and lastly, in the perfect finish of the
verse and the curious felicity of the diction. In short, the poem is a
work of high art. It was not inspired, but it was carefully elaborated.
And this appears plainly when we compare it, as it stands in the Fraser
manuscript, with its final form.
This poem was a work of eight years. Its heading in the Fraser
manuscript is "Stanzas Wrote in a Country Churchyard." It was, however,
begun at Stoke in 1742, continued at Cambridge, and had its last
touches added at Stoke-Pogis, June 12, 1750. In a letter to Horace
Walpole of that date, Gray says, "Having put an end to a thing whose
beginning you saw long ago, I immediately send it to you."
The corrections made by Gray during this period were many, and were
probably all improvements. Many poets when they try to improve their
verses only injure them. But Gray's corrections were invariably for
the better. We may even say that, if it had been published as it was
first written, and as it now stands in the Fraser manuscript, it would
have ranked only with the best poetry of Shenstone or Cowper. Let me
indicate some of the most important changes.
In line seventeen, the fine epithet of "incense-breathing" was an
addition.
"The breezy call of incense-breathing morn,"
for the Fraser manuscript reads--
"Forever sleep. The breezy call of morn."