From Individual Lamentation to Universal Empathy: The Elegy in the English Literature

Abstract: Verse is one of the oldest forms of literature. This form is closest to human hearts due to its rhythmic pattern. It is easy to remember for long years. It has its origin from the oral tradition. Poetry has several genres like epic, lyric, ballad, sonnet, dramatic monologue, elegy etc. Elegy is one of the vital genres of poetry. There are several elegiac pieces of poetry. Here in this paper there will be a detailed analysis of some of the significant elegies of English Literature. Elegies are reflective pieces of literature which often deal with some loss, death, mortality, heartache etc. The tone is automatically gloomy and melancholic where the poet is mourning for some irreparable loss. According to M.H. Abrams Elegy is In Greek and Roman times, “elegy” denoted any poem written in elegiac meter (alternating hexameter and pentameter lines). Subject matter of these poems is grave and very serious. In Old English Literature there are some marvelous elegies like The Sea farer, The Wanderer, The Wife’s Lament; Deor’s Lament etc. all these literary pieces have enriched English Literature and have aided this literary genre to reach its improvement and perfection. Elegiac poetry through its profound subject matter lightens the grief and emotional baggage of the poets but also touches the hearts of the readers worldwide. It makes personal grief universal. There lies the acceptance of Literature as it establishes that human emotion is universal irrespective caste, class, gender and geographical borders. The close reading of the poems and the interpretative textual analysis accompanied with the historical contexts enrich the methodological aspect of this research study. The literature review focuses mostly on the individual elegies of the concerning era and provide detailed elaboration and close analysis of the texts. The psychological, archetypal, ecocritical, fundamental elegiac and anti –elegy theoretical approaches help in the effective comprehension of the elegies. Key Words: elegy, death, loss, lament, mourn, grave, pastoral, beloved, console, personal, universal, emotional, acceptance, spiritual, mundane, empathy