 Many scholars , including Lonsdale , believe that the poem 's message is too universal to require a specific event or place for inspiration , but Gray 's letters suggest that there were historical influences in its composition . In particular , it is possible that Gray was interested in debates over the treatment of the poor , and that he supported the political structure of his day , which was to support the poor who worked but look down on those that refused to . However , Gray 's message is incomplete , because he ignored the poor 's past rebellions and struggles . The poem ignores politics to focus on various comparisons between a rural and urban life in a psychological manner . The argument between living a rural life or urban life lets Gray discuss questions that answer how he should live his own life , but the conclusion of the poem does not resolve the debate as the narrator is able to recreate himself in a manner that reconciles both types of life while arguing that poetry is capable of preserving those who have died . It is probable that Gray wanted to promote the hard work of the poor but to do nothing to change their social position . Instead of making claims of economic injustice , Gray accommodates differing political views . This is furthered by the ambiguity in many of the poem 's lines , including the statement " Some Cromwell guiltless of his country 's blood " that could be read either as Oliver Cromwell being guiltless for violence during the English Civil War or merely as villagers being compared to the guilty Cromwell . The poem 's primary message is to promote the idea of " Englishness " , and the pastoral English countryside . The earlier version lacks many of the later version 's English aspects , especially as Gray replaced many classical figures with English ones : Cato the Younger by Hampden , Tully by Milton , and Julius Caesar by Cromwell . 
