Question

In “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” to whom do the following lines refer? Each in his narrow cell forever laid, The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep a. the townspeople asleep in their beds b. dead members of the community in their graves c. prisoners in the town jail d. townspeople who died in prison

Answer 1

The answer is: b. dead members of the community in their graves.

In the excerpt from "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," the author Thomas Gray makes reference to the dead people from the village who are buried in their graves in the churchyard. By the word rude he suggests the tombs belong to simple villagers -not impolite or disrespectful people- who lived in the hamlet, which is a small settlement.