Poetic Form
Elegy
From Greek elegeia: a mournful poem (originally defined by its metre, the elegiac couplet). The English elegy has encompassed public grief (In Memoriam) and intimate loss (Adonais).
Definition
A formal poem of lamentation, meditating on death or profound loss, traditionally moving toward consolation or acceptance.
Example
Gray's 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' (1751); Milton's 'Lycidas' (1638).