elegiacs
Definition
- Noun (plural):
- Mournful poetry: "elegiacs" refers to verses or poems that express sorrow, lamentation, or mourning, typically written in elegiac meter (a metrical form consisting of a dactylic hexameter followed by a dactylic pentameter). This term is used specifically for the poetic form, not for individual elegies.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The poet composed elegiacs to honour the fallen soldiers. (Verses expressing sorrow for the deceased.)
- His collection of elegiacs was praised for its emotional depth. (A series of mournful poems in elegiac meter.)
Advanced Usage
"in elegiacs": written or composed in elegiac meter.
- The inscription on the tombstone was carved in elegiacs. (The text used a sorrowful poetic metre.)
"elegiacs of loss": poems specifically focused on themes of grief or bereavement.
- The elegiacs of loss in her work reflect a personal tragedy. (Her mournful verses centre on themes of death.)
Variants and Related Words
Elegiac (adj): relating to or characteristic of an elegy; mournful.
- The music had an elegiac tone. (The music expressed sadness or lamentation.)
Elegy (n): a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
- He wrote an elegy for his late grandmother. (A poem mourning her death.)
Synonyms
- Lament: a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.
- Dirge: a mournful song or poem for the dead.
- Threnody: a lamentation or song of mourning.
Related Idioms
Sing an elegy: to express grief in poetic form.
- The bard sang an elegy for the lost kingdom. (He performed a mournful poem about its fall.)
Write in elegiacs: to compose poetry in the specific metre associated with mourning.
- She chose to write in elegiacs for the memorial. (She used the traditional metre for lament.)
Notes on Usage
- "Elegiacs" is always used in the plural form and refers specifically to the poetic metre or a collection of such poems, not to a single poem (which would be an "elegy"). It is a technical term in literary criticism.