The Grave

Robert Blair (1699—1746) was a Scottish poet. Blair published only three poems. One was a commemoration of his father-in-law, and another was a translation. His reputation rests entirely on his third work, The Grave (published in 1743), which is a poem written in blank verse on the subject of death and the graveyard. It is much less conventional than its gloomy title might lead one to expect. Its religious subject no doubt contributed to its great popularity, especially in Scotland, where it gave rise to the so-called "graveyard school" of poetry. The poem extends to 767 lines of various merit, in some passages rising to great sublimity, and in others sinking to commonplace. The poem is now best known for the illustrations created by William Blake.