托馬斯·格雷（Thomas Gray）出於倫敦壹經紀人家庭，年青時曾在伊頓公學和劍橋大學求學，並隨友人遊歷歐洲大陸。後半生隱居於劍橋大學，擔任歷史和語言教授，但從未講學，也少有著述，只潛心讀書，致力於充實自己的學識。格雷壹生淡泊名利，曾謝絕桂冠詩人的稱號。除詩歌外，他的書信也被視為英國散文中的精品。
格雷壹生作詩不多，僅十余首詩傳世。其中以《墓園挽歌》最為著名，發表後曾引來諸多仿作，壹時形成所謂“墓園詩派”。該詩用8年時間寫成，最初的寫作動機是哀悼他伊頓公學讀書時的好友理查德·韋斯特，至少詩末所附的“墓誌銘”是為他而作。但縱觀全詩，其內容明顯超越了對某個具體人物的哀思，而是通過對鄉村壹處寂靜的墓地的描寫，表達對默默無聞的農民的同情，惋惜他們沒有機會施展天賦，同時也流露出對大人物傲慢奢侈生活的譴責。這種熱愛自然、同情人民、蔑視權貴的思想和彌漫於全詩的感傷情調，使《墓園挽歌》成為18世紀後期感傷主義詩歌的典範之作和此後興起的浪漫主義的精神。詩的語言精致典雅、結構嚴謹完整，隔行押韻的四行詩體也運用得節奏整齊、韻腳嚴格，表現出壹個學者型詩人的書卷氣。
另外值得壹提的是，格雷曾經十分醉心於古代北歐人的樸素而浪漫的原始詩歌，翻譯過他們的史詩《命運女神姐妹》和《奧丁的降生》等，開了英國浪漫派對北歐文學感興趣的風氣。
ELERGY WRITTEN IN 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.
墓園挽歌
白晝將殘盡，晚鐘促落暉。
黃犢鳴草原，逶迤緩緩歸。
田夫荷鋤走，赴家意沈昏。
玄冥盈天地，孤影立乾坤。
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;
夕曛逐黯淡，晚景漸暝滅。
萬化皆偃息，陰肅籠四野。
唯見蟲旋舞，但聞語切切。
牧鈴聲思睡，催羊入圈歇。
Save that, from yonder ivy-mantled tower,
The moping owl does to the moon complain
Of such as, wandering near her secret bower,
Molest her ancient solitary reign.
薜荔搖青氣，蒙絡罩尖頂。
棲棲枝上梟，磔磔怨蟾光：
窺我私巢久，徘徊未離休。
古已長居此，何事擾清幽。
Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade
Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap,
Each in his narrow cell for ever laid,
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.
崢嶸聳青榆，藹藹立紫杉。
翳下多荒墳，隆冒蒿草間。
隘隘見方穴，寂寂長眠人。
欲問誰偃臥，野夫與村氓。
The breezy call of incense-breathing morn,
The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed,
The cock's shrill clarion, or the echoing horn,
No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed.
侵曉花香郁，翦翦風輕喚。
茅廬草堂下，家燕語呢喃。
司晨雄雞啼，行獵號角鳴。
陋塌壹已臥，萬聲莫能醒。
For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn,
Or busy housewife ply her evening care;
No children run to lisp their sire's return,
Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share.
爐膛火爍爍，主婦忙夜活。
燒飯兼添火，此景已不復。
嬌兒尚學語，啞啞迎父歸。
爬膝爭寵愛，斯景亦難追。
Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield;
Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke;
How jocund did they drive their team afield!
How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!
昔往鐮刀利，行處皆披靡。
瘠土磽薄地，犁溝亦能理。
驅駕於南畝，耦耕歡時務。
千斤揮巨斧，群林紛鞠伏。
Let not ambition mock their useful toil,
Their homely joys, and destiny obscure;
Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile
The short and simple annals of the poor.
妄者莫嘲諷，勞碌終有功。
微賤無須嘆，家樂可頌揚。
蓬戶家史短，簡略不足耀。
權貴或有聞，無為相譏誚。
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike the inevitable hour:
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
炫炫之豪族，煌煌之王侯，
美貌所招徠，財貨所添購，
最終皆難免，灰飛煙滅時。
榮華何足道，百年歸丘壟。