Structure & form

Elegy

A mournful, reflective poem, typically a lament for someone who has died.

An elegy grieves a loss and often moves from sorrow toward consolation or acceptance. Writers use the form to honor the dead, reckon with mortality, and give shape to mourning. Its meditative tone distinguishes it from the celebratory ode.

Example

Whitman mourns the assassinated Lincoln as a fallen ship’s captain, an elegy that turns national grief into a personal cry.

O Captain! My Captain! · Walt Whitman

Related terms

← All literary terms