 In describing the narrator 's analysis of his surroundings , Gray employed John Locke 's philosophy of the sensations , which argued that the senses were the origin of ideas . Information described in the beginning of the poem is reused by the narrator as he contemplates life near the end . The description of death and obscurity adopts Locke 's political philosophy as it emphasises the inevitability and finality of death . The end of the poem is connected to Locke 's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding in that the beginning of the poem deals with the senses and the ending describes how we are limited in our ability to understand the world . The poem takes the ideas and transforms them into a discussion of blissful ignorance by adopting Locke 's resolution to be content with our limited understanding . Unlike Locke , the narrator of the poem knows that he is unable to fathom the universe , but still questions the matter . 
