An elegy is defined as a sorrowful poem. It is a lament for the dead. An elegy was originally used for a type of poetic metre known as the elegiac metre. It is now also used for a poem of mourning. The word elegy is derived from the Greek word elegos, which means a reflection on the occasion of the death of a person or on a sorrowful occasion generally.
The same word is also the root for the English word eulogy. An elegy is also sometimes spelt as elegie. It is sometimes a type of musical work which is usually composed to covey a sad and sombre mood.
It is a pensive or reflective poem. The mood usually conveyed by the poet in an elegy is melancholy and nostalgic. Since it is basically written to mark the sad occasion of the untimely demise of a person, it often ends in a consolation and the basic theme of an elegy is one of condolence.
The same word is also the root for the English word eulogy. An elegy is also sometimes spelt as elegie. It is sometimes a type of musical work which is usually composed to covey a sad and sombre mood.
It is a pensive or reflective poem. The mood usually conveyed by the poet in an elegy is melancholy and nostalgic. Since it is basically written to mark the sad occasion of the untimely demise of a person, it often ends in a consolation and the basic theme of an elegy is one of condolence.
