What is Elegy?
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary Elegy is, “: a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation, especially for one who is dead” It is a poem of serious reflection, usually a lament for the dead. It offers a poet to express his sorrow on the death of his dear and near one.
Greek word Elegos “Song of mourning”
Types of Elegies: Personal and Impersonal
Personal Elegy also known as Subjective Elegy. In this type of Elegy poet laments the death of some close friend, relative, or individual.
Impersonal Elegy also known as Objective Elegy. In this type of Elegy poet is sad on the misfortunes of mankind
Classical vs Modern
In classical we have elegiac couplet 2 lines stanza
Each couplet consists of a hexameter followed by a pentameter
While in modern times, writing an elegy does not care about literary devices like Meter, Rhyming scheme, or stanza. In it, the poet focuses on emotion rather on form.
Pastoral Elegy
The pastoral elegy is a special kind of elegy. The words ‘pastoral’ comes from the Greek word “pastor”, which means “to graze”. Hence pastoral elegy is an elegy in which the poet represents himself as a shepherd mourning the death of a fellow shepherd. The form arose among the ancient Greeks, and Theocritus, Bions and Moschus were its most noted practitioners. In ancient Rome, it was used by the Latin poet Virgil. In England, countless pastoral elegies have been written down from the Renaissance (16″ century)to the present day.
Examples of Pastoral Elegy:
Spenser’s Astrophel, Milton’s Lycidas, Shelley’s Adonais and Arnold’s Thyrsis and Scholar Gipsy, are the most notable examples of pastoral elegy.
Master Pieces
John Donne, “The Flea” (published posthumously in 1633). A romantic elegy using a blood-sucking flea as a metaphor. In general, Donne was bolder in his sexual descriptions than many of his English contemporaries. However, it is relevant to consider that most of his erotic work was published after his death, and often cloaked in literary devices.
John Milton, “Lycidas” (1637). This is a good example of a pastoral elegy, meaning a poem that uses descriptions of nature to articulate feelings of loss and remembrance. As was standard for the London-born Milton, “Lycidas” is brimming with Christian themes.
Thomas Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” (1751). A sombre meditation on death inspired by the 1742 passing of the poet Richard West.
Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Adonaïs: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats” (1821). An elegy was written in the Spenserian style of iambic pentameter with an ABABBCBCC rhyme scheme. The poem memorializes John Keats, which follows in the tradition of authors using elegy to honour their literary compatriots.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “In Memoriam” (1850). A Victorian-era elegy for Tennyson’s dear friend and would-be brother-in-law Arthur Henry Hallam.
Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” (1865). An elegy inspired by Lincoln as well as the loss felt throughout America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
W.H. Auden, “In Memory of W.B. Yeats” (1940). Written by the British Auden to honour the departed Irish poet Yeats. The poem is divided into lament, eulogistic praise, and solace for mourners.
Elegy vs Eulogy
An elegy is a poem that expresses sorrow or melancholy, often about someone who has died. A eulogy is usually a speech that praises the achievements and character of a person who has died, often as part of a funeral service.
Dirge vs Elegy.
The ‘dirge’, which means a sad song also exhibits sorrow on the event of the death of someone in particular, however, it is slightly different from an elegy in terms of being short, less formal, and generally characterized as a text to be presented in the form of a song.
