Review of "Ode on the death of a favorite cat" by Thomas Gray

"Ode on the death of a favorite cat" by Thomas Gray (1716 - 1771) was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on October 6, 2013.  A link to the poem may be found here:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16142?utm_source=PAD%3A+Ode+on+the+death+of+a+favorite+cat+by+Thomas+Gray&utm_campaign=poemaday_100613&utm_medium=email

The editor's notes reveal that Mr. Gray composed this poem as an elegy in memory of the death by accidental drowning of a pet cat owned by a close friend.  The poem is filled with cliches, particularly the painful last line.  Nevertheless, Mr. Gray's friend so appreciated the gesture that he had the first stanza engraved on a vase.