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Halloween is around the corner and spooky things start popping up. Death can be one of the scariest things out there, so I decided I would feature some poetry forms that had to do with the subject of death, and sorrow about death.
Every English poet should master the rules of grammar before he attempts to bend or break them.
Robert Graves (1895 - 1985)
And that applies to poetry forms, too!
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Death Poetry
The ancient Egyptians believed that the soul was weighed against a feather, and if all went well you lived with the gods. The Celts thought people went to the “Delightful Plain” where they never aged or got sick, and those who follow Islam believe that the soul gets a test—if their answers pass, their tomb fills with light until judgment day. Buddhists believe that the soul goes to Bardo for 49 days before they are reincarnated, and many other religions believe souls go to an angelic Heaven, horrible Hell or sometimes Purgatory.
No matter where you believe a soul goes after they die, those left behind seek many ways to deal with the loss and find closure. As a poet, you can choose one or all of these forms to express your sorrow in the loss of a loved one, or any loss for that matter.
Elegy
This form dates back to ancient Greece. The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms says, “the word elegy comes from the Greek word elegeia, which means ‘song of mourning’” (Padgett, 62).
BRIEF HISTORY
This same handbook tells us that in the 7th century B.C., “the first person to write an elegy was probably Mimnermus of Colophon.” At least, his is the first written record found of an elegy. There may be many earlier elegies lost to time or haven’t been discovered yet (Padgett, 62).
MUST HAVES
--Must be about death or a loss that is like death--unless you choose the Roman change that made them about love (see below).
--If you choose to create a classical elegy you will want to begin with the subject of your elegy, then share your mourning, and finally your acceptance of the death/loss.
COULD HAVES or What's The Poet's Choice In All This?
--Any form (or no particular form) just follow the form's rules if you use one.
--Any rhyme (or no rhyme), unless a form is used, then you follow the rhyme scheme for that form.
--Any meter (or no set meter) unless a form is used, then you follow the meter required for that form.
--Length can be long or short. However, if you use a form, that form might dictate the length.
OF NOTE
The Greeks wrote elegies about death, but later Romans made them about love. This remained relatively unchanged until “England in 1611.” At that time, John Donne brought the elegy about death back into writing fashion. (Padgett, 62).
Epitaph
Epitaphs originally were placed on tombstones, but as long as they look like they could go on one, you have written an epitaph. The word is Greek and means “upon a tomb” (Padgett, 71) .
BRIEF HISTORY
Even though the name is Greek, the first ones were written in ancient Egypt.
MUST HAVES
--Must be short.
--Must be written for a tombstone, or just look like it could go on a tombstone.
COULD HAVES or What's The Poet's Choice In All This?
--Any rhyme (or no rhyme, although many do).
--Any meter (or no set meter).
--Be serious, be funny, or even be punny.
OF NOTE
My handy dandy Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms goes on to say that “Greeks and Romans also used the epitaph as a literary form. Elegies were written throughout the Middle Ages, too, but it wasn’t until the fifteenth century in England that the epitaph developed into an exceptionally high art.” (Padgett, 71)
Note: Literary epigrams are ones that aren’t meant to go on a tombstone, but look as if they could. (Miller, 190)
Epigram
This form is very close to the epitaph, except it was used for monuments and statues, as well as tombstones. This form is meant to be short and witty.
BRIEF HISTORY
Epigram is from a Greek work that means, “to write upon,” and is another form that is as old as ancient Greece.
MUST HAVES
--Must be short, generally not longer than six lines.
--Must be witty.
COULD HAVES or What's The Poet's Choice In All This?
--Any rhyme (or no rhyme, although many do).
OF NOTE
The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms says, “they can be written to compliment or insult another person, to make a political point, to praise or ridicule a hero, to make a sudden and shocking statement about love, to make a dedication, to give advice, to make fun of life, to commemorate a dead person, to express a philosophy of life, or to send a secret message that is hidden behind the obvious meanings of the words” (Padgett, 67). So you see that you have great latitude of where you can go with your epigram, including going in an altogether different direction than those mentioned above.
Monody
This was the most difficult form to research, since I could find little else but “form that laments a death.” This term can be found in music, as well as poetry. In fact, monody comes from the lyric. (Davies, 52)
BRIEF HISTORY
Way back in ancient Greece, the lyric had two types: the choral lyric, which was performed by many people, and the monody, which was sung by one person. Since there are very few rules out there for this poetic form, I will create some for you to use as a guide based on its historical use. I will use the Monody, Choral Lyric, and the Tyranny of the Hand-Book article by Davies, and Classics in Translation by Mackendrick and Howe as my historical guides.
MUST HAVES
--Must mourn a death.
--Must be on the short side, but not usually as short as the epitaph and epigram are.
--Must be in the POV of one person, although the lament could be about the loss of many.
COULD HAVES or What's The Poet's Choice In All This?
--Any rhyme (or no rhyme), unless a form is used, then you follow the rhyme scheme for that form. Generally things that are sung rhyme, and this form was originally sung. Consult your poetic license when you decide how to go for this one.
--Any meter (or no set meter) unless a form is used, then you follow the meter required for that form. This form usually had simple meters, and if one is chosen stick to it throughout.
--Stanza length, choose any, but stick to the same throughout. Example: if you choose an eight-line stanza and want three stanzas, make them all have eight lines.
--Any form (or no particular form) just follow the form's rules.
OF NOTE
The Classics in Translation book had an interesting note. They said that this form is “closely associated with the Ionians, [and] is nearer to popular folk poetry” (Mackendrick and Howe, 93).
Source Notes:
Davies, M. (1988).Monody, Choral Lyric, and the Tyranny of the Hand-Book. The Classical Quarterly, New Series. Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 52-64.
Mackendrick, P, & Howe, H (1980). Classics in Translation. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.
Padgett, Ron. The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms. 2nd. NY: T & W Books, 2000.
Williams, Miller (1986). Patterns of Poetry: An Encyclopedia of Forms. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press.
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Theme: Elegy, epitaph, epigram, and monody.
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Comments on last month's newsletter:
Submitted By: Thomas 
Submitted Comment:
For the past three years, I've had the honor of taking part in a local poetry and photography event called Poetography.
The way the event works is first, people send in their photographs and the judges choose their favorite 25 to 30 prints. Then, they post them on the internet and invite people to write poems, inspired by the photos.
The judges choose their favorite poem per photo and they have an awards banquet in October to celebrate poet and photographer alike. It's very inspiring and a lot of fun.
What an excellent way to practice Ekphrastics! I wish they had something similar where I live, is it open to anyone or just the locals? Do you have a link that we can look at?
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Poetry: October 15, 2008 Issue [#2667]
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