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Understanding the Elegy: The Darkest Form of Poetry I would like to start by saying that elegy is a mournful or plaintive poem; a funereal song; a poem of lamentation that was called forth by a decease of a close friend or relative as shown by a pathos style of mortality. Elegy from the Greek means funeral and mourn. One should not forget that the earliest Greek elegies which we know of today are not funeral, yet indeed show something of a primitive nature which relates to the burial ceremony. In Greece, therefore, one sees that elegy was not dedicated for burial or death, but rather to war, struggle and love (Lee, 90).
Calhnus of Ephesus, who lived and worked in the VII century BC was probably the earliest elegist we know of today. A century later, another famous elegist, Tyrtaeus, would create his elegist masterpieces in the city of Sparta. And as we know, both Calhnus and Tyrtaeus were famous patriots and pro-war. Another elegist, Mimnermus, created elegies that inspired both Greeks and the Romans as well as the schools of Tibullus and Propertius. Mimnermus is considered to have inspired erotic writings in Europe. In the VI century BC, Solon would also be known for his inspirational elegies, yet at present much of his contribution to the world literary heritage is lost.
Theognis of Megara is the person whose elegies did not get lost in history and through which the modern day archeologists study the Greek elegy. Theognis in his elegies would speak both about war and love and his Dorian spirit would be seen in all of its bravery (Veyne, 144). I will also need to draw the readers attention to the fact that elegy is all about emotions of pathos (passion) and currently is seen as a good representation of the Alice lyrics. Elegy would also be seen in its apogee during the time of Alexander the Great. Philetas, who lived in the III century BC was the one to reintroduce elegy to the populace and it was Callimachus who would create truly perfect elegies that were admired by everyone alike: plebes and slaves. Asciepiades and Euphorion would create elegies that would depict mostly the issues of war and would neglect love.
Theocritus, Bion and Moschuswhich would combine elegies with idylls. One should also remember that when the Roman poets started to imitate the Greek artists during Alexandrian times they could not fully imitate Callimachus. Gallus, whose elegies were never found by archeologists, on the other hand, would be famous for creating good translations of the Greek elegies into Latin, namely the elegies of Euphorion (Lee, 94). At some point of time Gallus would be known for creating his own elegies which were among the first Roman elegies. Another Roman elegist, Cytheris, would try to imitate Propertius and gained a recognition to be the best roman elegist of all times. Cytheris, still would borrow his style from Gallus, who managed to find a golden mean between passion and reason and thus create the elegies that would please the Rome.
Cytheris work Cynthia use a sophisticated rhyme of pentameter and hexameter appears to have created the benchmark of what a good elegy of Rome should look like. Another philosopher and elegist, Tibullus, is very closely associated with Propertius despite the fact that he tried to make his own style as much different from Propertius as possible. Tibullus would used much passion and sweetness in his elegies that created admiration by the Roman poets and even during the period of Renaissance in Europe many centuries later. Needless to note that his style was imitated during his life in Rome as well as many centuries later during the Renaissance time in Europe (Davis, 11). At the same time, Ovid's elegies appear to be somewhat dry and cut, written in only one style and form (dexterous easy meter) which was close in rhyme and style to the first ancient Greek elegies (Veyne, 147). One should remember that the word elegy appears again during the Renaissance time in Europe, namely England where elegies were introduced by the fans of Ovid and Propertius.
From the start of the XVI century in Great Britain, elegy was used to describe a funeral, a burial procedure or a sad lament. The first British elegy is called The Complaint of Phiomene, started by George Gascoigne and was printed in 1576. Another elegy called the dap was a modern elegy of the XVI century that would speak about the obsequies of some person. In 1579 Puttenham would speak of the literary style, elegy as of song of long lamentations. During the XVII century, the elegies would spread across Europe and would be used on all sad occasions (public or private). Thus, we understand that elegy became a literary movement that would not have any turns or points, but rather would be inept and somewhat careless.
In the XVII century the Great Britain started producing its own elegies, like Lycidas of Milton that is currently considered to have been the best elegy of all time in Great Britain (Lee, 97). Since the XVIII century the elegy started to somewhat change in Great Britain. Adonai's of Shelley, The Thesis of Matthew Arnold and the Aveatque Vale of Swinburne became rather popular. One should also not forget that the majority of the British elegy has been written in a country churchyard by Mr. Gray (Davis, 12). Another author, Mr.
James Hammond would become notorious in England for his short love elegies that would besides sadness and grief picture erotic experiences and passions similar in style of Ovid and Tibullus. Hammond was therefore not very much liked in England yet would be truly admired in France where his works would be learnt and cited and even copied by Parny, Chnedoll and even Millevoye. Hammonds elegies would be somewhat melancholic and sentimental in their nature and became class of poetry in the French literature. Another author, Lamartine, was very famous in France for creating his Le Lac elegy volume that gained as much recognition and admiration in France as would Grays Country Churchyard in Great Britain (Davis, 14). Portugal was another country besides England and France that would support and develop elegy mainly with the help of Camoens, the most and only elegist of Portugal during the XVIII century (Lee, 99). In Italy one would find Chaibrera and Filicaia who lead the elegist groups and school across the land.
In Germany, elegy was not accepted in any form and thus did not enter the German literary heritage. I should add here that Goethe and his elegist works would appear similar to the works of Ovid, yet they were not even plaintive or sad in their nature and expression (Veyne, 150). The reader should be aware of the fact that the German poets would adopt a special elegiac verse for the creation of their elegies, while the British poets would create their own style. The German elegies would look like the following (Luck, 74): first line is a hexameter. Second line is a pentameter We need to remember that the word elegy oftentimes was used rather incorrectly simply because it would not apply to things that are not mournful or at least sad. Thus the British set of works called Tennyson's in Memoriam cannot be called an elegy because it was not mournful at all.
Another work, Lucy of Wordsworth's, cannot be called an elegy, but rather is a dirge, because it is too short in the emotional representation of sadness to be called an elegy. Lycidas and Adonai's are probably among the few elegies that are considered perfect elegies of the British literature (Lee, 102). In conclusion I would like to note that elegy is an artistic style that signifies mourning, sadness and grief and that was created in the ancient Greece and later modified by the Roman empire. The elegist poem must adhere to a strict set of rules that define elegy's rhyme, style and format and that weed out other non-elegy works of the famous poets. After the fall of the roman empire and after the dark ages, elegy was revived during the renaissance period of time and introduced to England, France and to a certain extent to Germany.
In Germany, elegy was not accepted by the general populace and was written in a form to please the audience and thus cannot be called and elegy. Even England and France could boast only a few perfect elegies that would possess the style of elegy created in the ancient Greece. Bibliography: Lee, Guy, Tibullus Elegies: Introduction, Text, Translation and Notes (Latin and Greek Texts, 6), McGraw Hill, 2002. Veyne, Paul, Roman Erotic Elegy: Love, Poetry, and the West, Prentice hall, 2001. Luck, George, The Latin love elegy, penguin books, 2000. Davis, John, Dramatic pairings in the elegies of Propertius and Ovid, NY Random House, 2001.
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Research essay sample on Understanding The Elegy Darkest Form Of Poetry
