 The two did not resolve their disagreement , but Walpole did concede the matter , possibly to keep the letters between them polite . But Gray 's outline of the events provides the second possible way the poem was composed : the first lines of the poem were written some time in 1746 and he probably wrote more of the poem during the time than Walpole claimed . The letters show the likelihood of Walpole 's date for the composition , as a 12 June 1750 letter from Gray to Walpole stated that Walpole was provided lines from the poem years before and the two were not on speaking terms until after 1745 . The only other letter to discuss the poem was one sent to Wharton on 11 September 1746 , which alludes to the poem being worked on . 
