To save this word, you'll need to log in. Eulogy Both elegy and eulogy may be used about writing or speech in remembrance of a person who has passed away, and this semantic overlap creates the potential for confusion. My Captain! Send us feedback. See More First Known Use of elegy , in the meaning defined at sense 1 History and Etymology for elegy Latin elegia poem in elegiac couplets, from Greek elegeia, elegeion , from elegos song of mourning Keep scrolling for more Learn More about elegy Share elegy Post the Definition of elegy to Facebook Share the Definition of elegy on Twitter Time Traveler for elegy. See more words from the same year From the Editors at Merriam-Webster. Dictionary Entries near elegy elegist elegit elegize elegy eleidin elem eleme figs. Accessed 16 Aug.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH elegy
Examples of Elegy Poems
I hope this is not an elegy in the sense that what it represents is not lost but it could become an elegy. We must feel that the elegy is lifted to a higher plane by the new turn that the thought of its author takes at this place. The song passed gradually into an elegy , plaintive and full of pain. The first elegy of great importance describes the state of Megara when under the control of a democracy. It is sometimes not easy to distinguish the epistle from the elegy and from the dedication. So there being no copy, but one pair of cases, and the Elegy likely to require all the letters, no one could help him.
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An elegy pronounced ELL-eh-jee is a poem of mourning. Written in a somber style, it reflects seriously on death and on the person who has passed. Elegies are written for a specific person, usually someone the author knew well, although sometimes people write elegies for long-dead heroes. The emotional effect is usually greatest, however, when the elegy is written from a personal experience of loss. Country singer Emmylou Harris wrote this elegy for Gram Parsons, who died at the age of only Harris expresses her loss by saying she would walk from Boulder, CO, to Birmingham, AL a distance of over a thousand miles. Losing someone to death is one of the most powerful human experiences — we all go through this at one time or another, so elegies are motivated by a broadly shared human emotion. When you lose a loved one, you can often process the emotions better by writing them down in an elegy. Because the emotions surrounding death are so strong and so universal, elegies can resonate very deeply with an audience.
Generally, elegies serve to mourn the loss of a loved one; but, they can sometimes be about different types of feelings of sadness, a general sense of loss, or even praise or celebration of a life, as opposed to solely focusing on death. Studying, deciphering and analyzing the text of elegy poems is the most effective way to understand the form and the emotional effect of such literature. My Captain! Whitman describes the emotions that he felt when Lincoln was murdered, and he paints an emotionally evoking picture of the dead Captain lying still. Once again, the reader sees the emotions of a person stricken by a deep, biting loss. Here, unusually, it is not for one person, but for all the people lost in the Holocaust. Some of these poems are quite famous, while others are not so well known. In any case, reading them will help deepen your appreciation for elegy poems. An elegy poem starts off mournfully, but it should then move on to praise of the dead and finish with comfort or solace for those left behind. This is the standard format of an elegy poem, though some may differ.