Home › Glossary › Letter M

Mourning poem

Genre
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Poetry expressly written to grieve or commemorate loss or death, including elegies, laments, and threnodies; it processes grief, celebrates the deceased, and offers consolation through structured expression.

Detailed Definition
A mourning poem, or elegy, expresses grief over death or loss, often moving through stages of lament, praise of the deceased, and eventual consolation; its tone ranges from personal sorrow to communal ritual, frequently employing formal structures like the pastoral elegy.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poem written to commemorate a death or express sorrow for a loss; An elegy that specifically honors and laments a deceased person; A lyric that conveys a sense of personal, deep grief and bereavement; A piece of verse whose primary emotional function is the expression of sorrow and affliction.
Additional Notes
Mourning poem: A poem expressing sorrow over a death, loss, or generalized grief; related forms include elegy (a formal, sustained lament), dirge (a shorter, musical lament), and threnody.
Also Known As
elegy mourning verse lament poem grief lyric Dirge Lament Lament verse
Skip to main content