How does a particular poem defines “the work of mourning.” To whom is the mourning directed, and what forms does it take?
Elegies: establish a poetic genealogy/ inheritance move from mourning to comfort/ consolation Poem about loss death meditation on ephemeral life/ eternity attachment, substitution a gateway between the public and the private/ the social and the private elegy for important/famous people Expressing personal Elegy performs a personal loss in a social setting It’s a link between the individual, social, private The setting allows you to express your sorrow It is culturally sensitive
