Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard nearing, Gray questioned if his own life would enter into a sort of rebirth cycle or, should he die, if there would be anyone to remember him. Gray's meditations during spring 1750 turned to how individuals' reputations would survive. Eventually, Gray remembered some lines of poetry that he composed in 1742 following the death of West, a poet he knew. Using that previous material, he began to compose a poem that would serve as an answer to the various questions he was pondering. On 3 June 1750, Gray moved to Stoke Poges, and on 12 June he completed "Elegy Written
Viriato Trágico (poem) The poem, like many other epic works of 17th-century Portuguese literature, is written in ottava rima ("oitava rima" in Portuguese). This eight-line stanza of Italian origin is composed of hendecasyllabic lines rhymed "abababcc". The form was introduced into epic poetry by Giovanni Boccaccio in the 14th century. Soon it became very popular in Italy. In the beginning of the 16th century Francisco de Sá de Miranda, returning home from a stay in Italy, imported it into Portuguese poetry. This stanza was chosen by Luís de Camões for his "Lusiads". Many other poets used this form in the 17th century, including