Elegy

Short Note- Elegy

An elegy is a poem on the death of a loved one, usually written in remembrance of a lost one for a funeral or as a lament. An elegy tells the traffic story of an individual, or an individual’s loss, rather than the collective story of a people, which can be found in epic poetry. An elegy generally combines three stages of loss: first there is grief, then praise of the dead one, and finally consolation. Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” was written to

honor the death of his friend and fellow poet, Richard West. Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” which was written in memory of Abraham Lincoln. Whitman describes the emotions that he felt when Lincoln was murdered.
An important species of the elegy is pastoral elegy. It represents both the mourner and the one he mourns as shepherds. Milton’s “Lycidas”, Shelley’s “Adonais”, and Arnold’s “Thyrsis” are the most notable of English pastoral elegies.