A group of mid- to late- eighteenth century poets who saw in the graveyard an occasion for reflection on human mortality. Neo-classical in style, they paved the way for the Gothic and Romanticism. The finest poem of the school is Thomas Grey's “Elegy on a Country Churchyard”.
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight,
And all the air a solemn stillness holds,
Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight,
And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds;
Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tower
The moping owl does to the moon complain
Of such as, wandering near her secret...
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Graveyard Poets". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 November 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=483, accessed 05 December 2025.]
