In this verse from and ldquoThe Epitaph in ldquoElegy Written a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray how is the life of speaker measured?

In Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," the life of the speaker is measured by the span between morning and evening. The poem is set at dusk, and the speaker reflects on the lives of those buried in the churchyard. He acknowledges that their lives were short and insignificant, just like his own. He sees their lives as a brief moment that is quickly forgotten like a "shadow."