Changes

During the [[Middle Ages]] there was a turn around.  Whereas in ancient times the word described the metre whatever the mood, now it began describing the mood regardless of the metre. There have been exceptions, of course.

During the [[Middle Ages]] there was a turn around.  Whereas in ancient times the word described the metre whatever the mood, now it began describing the mood regardless of the metre. There have been exceptions, of course.

The modern meaning in [[English]] appeared in the sixteenth century. Poets had experimented with the “elegiac distich” form of the ancients, but it does not lend itself easily to English verse forms and the word “elegy” began to be almost exclusively concerned with love – lost or unrequited - or death.  By the eighteenth century death had taken over and love and its many concepts delegated to inhabit the numerous other poetical forms available to it. This period saw what is usually considered to be the greatest elegy written in English: Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard.” [[http://www.bartleby.com/101/453.html]]

The modern meaning in [[English]] appeared in the sixteenth century. Poets had experimented with the “elegiac distich” form of the ancients, but it does not lend itself easily to English verse forms and the word “elegy” began to be almost exclusively concerned with love – lost or unrequited - or death.  By the eighteenth century death had taken over and love and its many concepts delegated to inhabit the numerous other poetical forms available to it. This period saw what is usually considered to be the greatest elegy written in English: Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard.”<ref>http://www.bartleby.com/101/453.html</ref>

The [[Great War]] was a fruitful time for the form.

The [[Great War]] was a fruitful time for the form.

More to come

More to come

[[Category:Literature]]

[[Category:Literature]]