Thomas Gray(1716-1771) was a poet of the romantic era, in the eighteenth century. His themes were rural, pastoral and parochial, reflecting the universal in there. He was an English poet, classical scholar and professor of history at Cambridge university. He was born in London, and lived with his mother after she left his abusive father. He was educated at Eton college and then built up his career in Cambridge. His works are hardly what one would call voluminous but they are of lasting contribution. He combined traditional forms and poetic diction with new topics and modes of expression and may be considered as a classically focused precursor of the romantic revival. His Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751) believed to have been written in the churchyard of Stoke Poges, Buckingamshire, was recognized immediately for its beauty and skill, and the churchyard Poets are so named because they wrote in the Shadow of Gray?s great poem.He is also well known for his statement that ?where ignorance is bliss, ?tis folly to be wise?, from his 1742 Ode On a Distant Prospect of Eton college.
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