In stanza 4, to whom does the phrase “the rude forefathers” refer? ( MEG 102 ) ( THOMAS GRAY )

In stanza 4 of "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," the phrase "the rude forefathers" refers to the generations of people who came before the present day. The speaker of the poem suggests that these "rude forefathers" were simple, unsophisticated people who lived in the same village as the speaker and were buried in the churchyard that the speaker is describing. The phrase suggests a certain amount of respect for these earlier generations, who lived their lives in a more straightforward and unassuming way than the people of the speaker's time. The phrase also helps to emphasize the theme of the poem, which is the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death, and suggests that the people buried in the churchyard were all subject to the same fate, regardless of their station in life.