Grief Through Poetry and Song
Dirge
Brief hymn or song
Full of grief and lamentation
To be sung at a funeral
Shorter than an elegy
Lament
Any poem expressing deep grief
Usually written after the death of a
loved one
Can be lamenting a loss other than
death
Related to ELEGY & DIRGE
“Lament” by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Listen, children:
Your father is dead.
From his old coats
I'll make you little jackets;
I'll make you little trousers
From his old pants.
There'll be in his pockets
Things he used to put there,
Keys and pennies
Covered with tobacco;
Dan shall have the pennies
To save in his bank;
Anne shall have the keys
To make a pretty noise with.
Life must go on,
And the dead be forgotten;
Life must go on,
Though good men die;
Anne, eat your breakfast;
Dan, take your medicine;
Life must go on;
I forget just why.
Sorrow is my own yard
where the new grass
flames as it has flamed
often before, but not
with the cold fire
that closes round me this year.
Thirty-five years
I lived with my husband.
The plum tree is white today
with masses of flowers.
Masses of flowers
load the cherry branches
and color some bushes
yellow and some red,
but the grief in my heart
is stronger than they,
for though they were my joy
formerly, today I notice them
and turn away forgetting.
Today my son told me
that in the meadows,
at the edge of the heavy woods
in the distance, he saw
trees of white flowers.
I feel that I would like
to go there
and fall into those flowers
and sink into the marsh near them.
“The Widow’s Lament in
Springtime” by William Carlos
Williams
Elegy
An
occasional
poem when read at a
funeral or memorial
Laments & grieves the death of the
poem’s subject
Sometimes written in meter with a
rhyme scheme
Different than EULOGY – a eulogy is a
speech
for a funeral or memorial
Panegyric
Poem of praise & tribute
Related to eulogy & ode
Highly praises the subject of the poem
Ben Johnson wrote a panegyric praising
William Shakespeare. Anne Bradstreet
wrote one praising Queen Elizabeth.
Epitaph
Short poem
Meant as an inscription on a
tombstone
“Bread and Music” by Conrad Aiken
Music I heard with you was more than music,
And bread I broke with you was more than bread;
Now that I am without you, all is desolate;
All that was once so beautiful is dead.
Your hands once touched this table and this silver,
And I have seen your fingers hold this glass.
These things do not remember you, belovèd,
And yet your touch upon them will not pass.
For it was in my heart you moved among them,
And blessed them with your hands and with your eyes;
And in my heart they will remember always,—
They knew you once, O beautiful and wise.
“Do not stand at my grave and weep” by Mary Elizabeth Frye
Do not stand at my grave and weep:
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starshine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry:
I am not there; I did not die.
Delve into the themes of grief, loss, and lamentation through poignant poems like "Lament" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and "The Widow's Lament in Springtime" by William Carlos Williams, alongside the solemn notes of a dirge. These works capture the essence of mourning, remembrance, and the inevitable passage of life. Discover the emotional depth and reflective nature of elegies, epitaphs, and panegyrics in this evocative collection.
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Presentation Transcript
Dirge Brief hymn or song Full of grief and lamentation To be sung at a funeral Shorter than an elegy
Lament Any poem expressing deep grief Usually written after the death of a loved one Can be lamenting a loss other than death Related to ELEGY & DIRGE
Lament by Edna St. Vincent Millay Listen, children: Your father is dead. From his old coats I'll make you little jackets; I'll make you little trousers From his old pants. There'll be in his pockets Things he used to put there, Keys and pennies Covered with tobacco; Dan shall have the pennies To save in his bank; Anne shall have the keys To make a pretty noise with. Life must go on, And the dead be forgotten; Life must go on, Though good men die; Anne, eat your breakfast; Dan, take your medicine; Life must go on; I forget just why.
Sorrow is my own yard where the new grass flames as it has flamed often before, but not with the cold fire that closes round me this year. Thirty-five years I lived with my husband. The plum tree is white today with masses of flowers. Masses of flowers load the cherry branches and color some bushes yellow and some red, The Widow s Lament in Springtime by William Carlos Williams but the grief in my heart is stronger than they, for though they were my joy formerly, today I notice them and turn away forgetting. Today my son told me that in the meadows, at the edge of the heavy woods in the distance, he saw trees of white flowers. I feel that I would like to go there and fall into those flowers and sink into the marsh near them.
Elegy An occasional poem when read at a funeral or memorial Laments & grieves the death of the poem s subject Sometimes written in meter with a rhyme scheme Different than EULOGY a eulogy is a speech for a funeral or memorial
Panegyric Poem of praise & tribute Related to eulogy & ode Highly praises the subject of the poem Ben Johnson wrote a panegyric praising William Shakespeare. Anne Bradstreet wrote one praising Queen Elizabeth.
Epitaph Short poem Meant as an inscription on a tombstone
Bread and Music by Conrad Aiken Music I heard with you was more than music, And bread I broke with you was more than bread; Now that I am without you, all is desolate; All that was once so beautiful is dead. Your hands once touched this table and this silver, And I have seen your fingers hold this glass. These things do not remember you, belov d, And yet your touch upon them will not pass. For it was in my heart you moved among them, And blessed them with your hands and with your eyes; And in my heart they will remember always, They knew you once, O beautiful and wise.
Do not stand at my grave and weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye Do not stand at my grave and weep: I am not there; I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow, I am the sun on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning s hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starshine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry: I am not there; I did not die.
