Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is as the title indicates an elegy. Such a poem centers on the death of a person or persons and is, therefore, somber in tone. An elegy is lyrical rather than narrative that is, its primary purpose is to express feelings and insights about its subject rather than to tell a story. Typically, an elegy expresses feelings of loss and sorrow while also praising the deceased and commenting on the meaning of the deceased''s time on earth. Gray''s poem reflects on the lives of humble and unheralded people buried in the cemetery of a church. The poem is illustrated a blossoming cactus.