Initially, the concept of "elegy" was associated with the form of the poem, but over time, the content and mood of the work became the dominant property. What works are now called elegy? What is an elegy? What motive does she bear?
Definition: what the word elegy means
Vladimir Dahl in the explanatory dictionary gives this definition to this term: it is a sad, mournful, a bit dull poem. In the explanatory dictionary of D. Ushakov It also explains what an elegy is:
- in ancient literature, it is a poem written by couplets of various contents;
- in Roman poetry , this is predominantly the sad tone of love lyrics;
- in the new poetry of Western Europe, it is a lyrical work that is imbued with sadness and sadness and is devoted to any thoughts or a love theme;
- in music - this is the name of musical works of a sad and sad nature.
Ozhegov S.I. and Shvedov N.Yu. in their explanatory dictionary give the following explanation of what elegy is:
- this lyric poem, which is filled with sadness, they are also called romantic elegies;
- musical piece of a mournful, sad, pensive character.
Efremova T.F. in the explanatory dictionary explains that the term is used in several meanings:
- it is a lyrical genre of literature of the 18-19th centuries;
- This is a lyrical poem saturated with sadness and sadness;
- poetry, which is written in couplets and embodies the thoughts of the author;
- it is synonymous with the words "melancholy" or "sadness."
The encyclopedic dictionary provides the same explanations for the term as in the explanatory dictionary of D. Ushakova
On Wikipedia, Elegy is:
- a lyrical genre that contains in a poetic form a complaint, sadness or emotional philosophical reflection on questions of the universe;
- musical piece of a sad, thoughtful character.
Elegy History
So what is elegy? Where did this term come from? When did it arise? What was the original meaning?
The word comes from the Greek "elegos", which is translated into Russian as a "plaintive song."
So, the definition of what is elegy: in literature it is a type of genre or a poem of emotional content, often written in the first person.
The concept itself arose in Ancient Greece in the 7th century BC (the founders of the genre - Mimnerm, Kallin, Feognid, Tirtey), initially the elegy had a moral and political content or denoted the form of a verse. In a peculiar form, works were created on various topics, for example, Archilochus wrote accusatory and sad works, Solon - poems with philosophical content, Tirtey and Kallin - about the war, Mimnerm - about politics.
But during the period of the Roman development of poetry (Ovid, Propertius, Tibull, Catullus), this concept is identified with love lyrics.
In the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, authors imitate ancient poets.
The heyday of elegy begins in the era of romanticism (Gray T., Jung E., Milvois S., Chenier A., Lamartina A., Guys E., Goethe).
Thomas Gray writes an elegy in the middle of the 18th century, which is translated into Russian almost 50 years later by V. Zhukovsky. - "Rural cemetery." She laid the foundation for the development of sentimentalism. At this time in the literature, the understanding of what elegy is is completely changing. Now this concept means a poem, which is permeated with sadness and thoughtfulness. The works of this era are characterized by such themes as loneliness, intimacy of experiences, disappointment, unrequited love.
But over time, the elegy loses its genre distinctness, and the term gradually goes out of use, remaining only as a sign of tradition (Rilke R.M. “Duinsky Elegy”, Brecht B. “Bukovsky Elegy”).
Definition: what is elegy in Western European literature
The heyday of this genre in European literature began with the elegy of the English poet Thomas Gray. Goethe's "Roman Elegies", Schiller's "Ideals", "Walk", many works of Matisson, Heine, Heine, Herweg, Lenau, Freiligrat, Platen, Schlegel and other authors are written in German literature in this genre.
The French in this genre created Debor-Valmore, Chenier, Milvois, Musset, Lamartine, Delavigne, Hugo.
The British have famous authors of sentimental poetry - Jung, Spencer, Byron, Shelley.
In Spain - Garcilaso de la Vega, Juan Boscan.
In Italy, the main representatives of this genre are Castaldi, Guarini, Alamanni.
In Poland - Balinsky.
The history of elegy in Russian poetry
In Russian lyrics, elegy appears only in the 18th century, this genre is found among V. Trediakovsky and A. P. Sumarokov, in the works of V. A. Zhukovsky, K. N. Batyushkov, A. S. Pushkin, E. Baratynsky . A., Yazykova N. M .; starting from the 2nd half of the 19th century, the term is used only as the name of the cycles by A. Fet and in the name of individual poems by A. Akhmatova, D. Samoilova
The story of elegy in music
What is elegy in music? This is a genre of musical work of a sad or sad dreamy character.
Elegy develops as a musical play only at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, these are works by Busoni Ferruccio, Grieg Edward, Fore Gabriel, Sergey Rachmaninov, Vasily Kalinnikov. Especially popular was the "Ellegia" written by Massenet.
At the end of the 18th century, a long song significantly influenced Russian vocal lyrics. She is very close to elegy in content and ways of expression. She was close to the theme of death, unhappy love, loneliness.
A long song is replaced by a solo lyric, which is inextricably linked with literature - Teplov G., Mayer F., Dubyansky F., Kozlovsky O.
In the first half of the 19th century, romance was the main area for elegy. And in the second half of the century, elegy is present in the chamber-instrumental works of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Arensky.
In the 20th century, many pop songs are descendants of lyrical elegies. Kutuno T., Doga E., Krutoy I., Pauls R. worked a lot in this genre. Each of them gave the world talented and amazing melodies that make the soul more beautiful, like their music.