Elegy & Pastoral Lit. Terms

Elegy

·      Definition: a poem of serious reflection, often a lament for the dead.

·      Example: “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson

·      Explanation: “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” is serious underneath its humorous veneer. The author in this poem is talking about their own death and how it was inescapable. This is an elegy because of it’s serious discussion about the death of a person.

Pastoral

·      Definition: of, relating to, or being a literary or other artistic work that portrays or evokes rural life, usually in an idealized way.

·      Example: “Fern Hill” by Dylan Thomas

·      Explanation: A scene of glowing perfect pastures is evoked in “Fern Hill”. He describes the remembered scenes of his childhood with a great and fervent passion. There seems to be nothing wrong with the farm, it is a place of perfection. The reality of farms is they are often smelly, dirty, and often dangerous, but in this pastoral portrayal, it appears pristine.