Funeral Poems History

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Funeral poems have been around for a long time. People almost exclusively associate a funeral eulogy or poem with the death of loved one. Modern funeral poem versions are  mostly used to pay homage to some one's life. Two distinct styles of funeral poems have a long and surprising history. A Eulogy is used to describe nearly any speech or writing that pays tribute to a person that dies. The word is derived from the two Greek words for "you" and "word." Eulogies can also be used to praise a person that is still alive. Appropriate in most funeral situations, some cultures and religions, like Catholicism prefer not to include them in services. The elegy dates back to classical Greek poetry. The elegiac meter contains two lines, known as a couplet and combines many of these couplets to create the funeral poem.

Funeral poem writing began long ago. One of the most influential early funeral poem writers was Callimachus whose poems and writings had dramatic impact on such classic Roman poets as Catullus, Propertius, Tibullus and Ovid. Catullus' 85th poem is one of the better know Latin elegies. Written for his lover, Lesbia, the funeral poem expresses conflicting emotion of both love and hatred. I hate and I love. Why do I do this, you might ask? I know not, but I feel it happening and I am tortured. The feeling of helplessness expressed can be still very prevalent in modern elegies. Elegiac poetry was originally championed as simply a way to express the beauty and grandeur of what we consider a classic roman epic poem in a shorter but equally noteworthy manner. Eventually, Roman authors also began to use the elegiac form to express strong emotion as well as tell stories. The roots of funeral poetry is evidenced in some of the works of Ovid, Propertius and others who used it to tell stories like the origin of Rome and the Temple of Apollo.

Funeral Poems have evolved to pay tribute, stir emotions and pull at our hearts in a positive healing manor. It was some of the English poets like Lord Tennyson and Thomas Gray that gave modern funeral poems the somber tones we have grown accustomed to. "Lady of Shalott" by Tennyson retained the elegiac tone and paired the praise it offered with a very mournful funeral poem tone. Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Courtyard" inspired many funeral poets of the time to take up the elegy. Most of these other funeral poem writers used the format to express solitude and mourning in a very general way. Funeral poems of the Romantic era attempted to use elegiac poetry in a lyrical way. Samuel Taylor Coleridge claimed the elegy was "most natural to the reflective mind." After the Romantic period, however, the funeral poem became more and more synonymous with lamentation. Eventually, the form of poems for funerals settled into its common modern use as a way to mourn and celebrate the dead. The eulogy and elegy both have a long, varied history that has led them to become the most popular poetry form for expressing loss, love and sorrow. Though they differ in origin, age and versatility, both forms of funeral poem  lamentation can be a touching and heartfelt tribute to a newly departed loved one. These memorial funeral poem formats can be used as a farewell or a way to help the bereaved find comfort and closure in incredibly difficult times. Whether used in a speech, obituary or epitaph, eulogies and elegies are beautiful ways to pay tribute to a life well lived. 

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