Elegy: GCSE English Definition

What is an elegy?

In GCSE English Literature, an elegy is a serious and melancholy poem expressing sorrow for someone who is dead.

Why do writers use elegies?

Elegies are written to lament or mourn death, and their sombre tone makes them appropriate poems to accompany a funeral or remembrance ceremony. 

Because elegies do not have any formal rhyming or structural requirements, poets can adapt the style of their poem to their subject. 

The tone of an elegy is always mournful, although they may end in lines that anticipate rebirth. They are sometimes confused with eulogies — speeches that celebrate the life of the deceased person.

Examples of elegies

Silence the pianos and with muffled drum

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

W.H. Auden’s poem, ‘Funeral Blues’, is an elegy that expresses the immensity of grief and loss after someone has died. The poem is written from the perspective of someone who is mourning and wants the world to mourn too.

The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing

Alive enough to have strength to die;

And a grin of bitterness swept thereby

Like an ominous bird a-wing….

Another elegy, Thomas Hardy’s ‘Neutral ‘Neutral Tones’ Tones’, laments the death of a relationship instead of an individual, and explores the speaker’s sorrow. 

Revision resources to ace your exams

Learn how to explore a writer’s use of elegies, including how to analyse the elegy form in your essays, by using our detailed GCSE revision notes.

GCSE English Literature Revision Notes

For more literary techniques, check out our list of 127 top literary devices, complete with student-friendly definitions.