Best Examples of Tone and Mood in Elegies: Examples and Insights

If you want to understand tone and mood in elegies, you don’t start with a definition. You start with the poems that knock the wind out of you.

Think about Walt Whitman’s “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, written after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. The subject is national tragedy, but the poem doesn’t sound like a news report or a funeral speech. The tone moves from stunned sorrow to quiet, almost mystical acceptance. The mood for the reader shifts with it: at first heavy and disoriented, then strangely calm as Whitman leans into nature—lilacs, stars, bird song—as a way to process grief.

That’s a perfect early example of tone and mood in elegies: examples and insights like this show how an elegy can mourn and heal at the same time.

Now compare that with W.H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues.” The tone is more theatrical, almost demanding: “Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone.” The speaker orders the world to shut down. The mood is suffocating, intense, like grief that refuses to be reasonable. There’s no gentle acceptance here, just a raw insistence that nothing can go on.

Already, we have two very different examples of tone and mood in elegies. One leans toward consolation, the other toward emotional meltdown. Both are powerful, and both teach us something about how elegies work.

How tone and mood work together in elegies: examples and insights

Tone is the poet’s attitude: bitter, tender, resigned, nostalgic, reverent, even ironic. Mood is what that attitude creates in you as a reader: dread, comfort, unease, catharsis, or a strange mix.

In many of the best examples of tone and mood in elegies, the two are not static. They evolve. That evolution is often what makes the poem feel honest.

Take Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” The opening tone is contemplative, almost hushed:

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,

The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea…

The poet sounds reflective, not hysterical. The mood for the reader is quiet, somber, slightly eerie—like walking through a cemetery at dusk. As the poem goes on, the tone turns more philosophical and empathetic toward the anonymous dead. The mood shifts from simple sadness to a reflective calm. You’re not just mourning; you’re thinking about class, history, and the lives that never made it into the spotlight.

That layered emotional experience is what readers remember. It’s also what makes this poem a staple in literature courses around the world. (If you want to see how often it appears in syllabi, browse university reading lists—many are publicly available through sites like Harvard’s English course pages or other .edu literature programs.)

Classic elegies: examples of tone and mood that still shape how we write about grief

When teachers talk about the best examples of tone and mood in elegies, a few poems come up over and over. Not because they’re old, but because they map grief so precisely.

“Lycidas” by John Milton

Milton wrote “Lycidas” after a friend drowned at sea. On the surface, it’s full of classical references and pastoral images, but emotionally it’s all over the map—and that’s the point.

• Tone: starts as formal and ceremonial, then swings into anger at corrupt clergy, then rises into spiritual confidence.
• Mood: you feel unsettled at first (the death is senseless), then stirred by the anger, and finally lifted by the final Christian vision of resurrection.

This is an early example of tone and mood in elegies where the poem refuses to stay in one emotional gear. Grief here is not a straight line; it’s a storm.

“Adonais” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Shelley’s elegy “Adonais” mourns the death of poet John Keats. Shelley is devastated, but he’s also writing for a literary circle that expected high, grand emotion.

• Tone: lofty, reverent, at times outraged at the critics who attacked Keats.
• Mood: the reader feels swept up in a huge, tragic drama. It’s not private grief; it’s almost public theater.

If you’re looking for an example of tone and mood in elegies that shows how public loss can feel mythic, “Adonais” is a masterclass.

“O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman

This is Whitman again, but a different mode. In “O Captain! My Captain!”, written for Lincoln, the tone is direct and patriotic, but also deeply personal—like a sailor talking to a beloved leader.

• Tone: reverent, grieving, almost childlike in its devotion.
• Mood: readers feel both national sorrow and intimate heartbreak, which is why the poem still shows up in classrooms and public ceremonies.

These classic poems are more than museum pieces; they’re working examples of tone and mood in elegies: examples and insights you can borrow when you’re trying to write about loss in your own time.

Modern and contemporary elegies: real examples that speak to 2024 readers

Grief in 2024 doesn’t look exactly like grief in 1800, and modern elegies reflect that. They respond to pandemics, war, gun violence, climate anxiety, and very personal losses posted on social media.

Natasha Trethewey’s “Elegy”

Former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey has a poem literally titled “Elegy,” about her father and a day they spent fishing. It’s not a cemetery scene; it’s a memory.

• Tone: tender, regretful, filled with quiet self-reproach for what was left unsaid.
• Mood: the reader feels a gentle ache rather than overwhelming sorrow. It’s the mood of looking at an old photo and realizing what you didn’t understand at the time.

This is a strong contemporary example of tone and mood in elegies, showing how a poem can be emotionally devastating without raising its voice.

Ocean Vuong’s elegiac writing

While not always labeled as “elegies,” many of Ocean Vuong’s poems function that way—mourning family, war, and queer lives. In _Night Sky with Exit Wounds_ and later work, he often uses fragmented structure and vivid, sometimes shocking images.

• Tone: intimate, vulnerable, occasionally surreal.
• Mood: you feel disoriented, then emotionally exposed. The mood is not just sad; it’s raw and strangely luminous.

Vuong’s work is a reminder that modern elegies can break form and still hit the emotional core. Literature departments and writing programs, such as those at NYU and other universities, increasingly teach these newer voices alongside the classics.

Pandemic-era elegies

Since 2020, there’s been a surge in elegiac writing—poems for loved ones lost to COVID-19, for healthcare workers, for entire communities. Journals and organizations like the Academy of American Poets (poets.org) have published special series dedicated to grief and remembrance.

Typical patterns in these recent elegies:

• Tone: often blends personal sorrow with social or political anger.
• Mood: readers feel both intimate loss and collective mourning, a sense that their private grief is part of a larger story.

If you’re studying recent examples of tone and mood in elegies, examples include these pandemic poems where the mood is crowded—grief shared across families, cities, even countries.

How writers create tone and mood in elegies: examples from the line level

It’s easy to say “the tone is mournful” or “the mood is hopeful,” but how does that actually happen on the page? Let’s look at some specific moves poets use, with real examples of tone and mood in elegies.

Word choice and imagery

In “Funeral Blues,” Auden doesn’t say, “I’m very sad.” Instead, he writes:

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.

That line is over-the-top on purpose. The tone is dramatic, almost unreasonable, which is exactly how grief can feel. The mood for the reader becomes apocalyptic: if this love is gone, shut the whole universe down.

Compare that with Gray’s churchyard scene: “lowing herd,” “moping owl,” “ivy-mantled tower.” The diction is gentle and rural. The tone is subdued; the mood is hushed. No one is screaming at the sky. You feel the weight of time more than the sharpness of pain.

Rhythm and sound

Short, choppy lines can create a tone of shock or anger; long, flowing lines can create a meditative tone.

Whitman’s long lines in “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” feel like waves of thought rolling in. The tone becomes expansive and searching. The mood is almost hypnotic, inviting you to linger in the grief instead of turning away.

On the other hand, a poem about sudden loss might use abrupt line breaks and harsh consonants. That can tilt the tone toward agitation and the mood toward anxiety.

Structure and emotional arc

Many of the best examples of tone and mood in elegies follow an emotional arc:

• initial shock or raw sorrow
• questioning or anger
• reflection
• some form of acceptance, insight, or at least a new perspective

Milton’s “Lycidas” is a textbook case. The tone at the beginning is stunned and formal; by the end, it’s confident in divine justice. The mood for the reader shifts from confusion to a kind of spiritual steadiness. Whether you share the theology or not, you feel the emotional journey.

Contemporary elegies sometimes resist neat resolution. A modern poem about gun violence, for example, might end in unresolved anger. The tone stays unsettled; the mood for the reader is intentionally uncomfortable. That discomfort can be the point.

Writing your own elegy: using these examples of tone and mood as a guide

If you’re trying to write an elegy—whether for a class, a loved one, or a public event—studying examples of tone and mood in elegies: examples and insights from both classic and modern poems can keep your work from flattening into one-note sadness.

Here are some practical ways to use those examples without copying them:

Decide whose grief you’re channeling

Is your tone speaking as a friend, a citizen, a child, a witness, or even a skeptic? Whitman in “O Captain! My Captain!” sounds like a devoted follower. Gray in the churchyard sounds like a quiet observer. Trethewey in “Elegy” sounds like a daughter looking back with regret.

That role shapes your tone, and your tone shapes the reader’s mood.

Let the emotion move

Look again at your favorite examples of tone and mood in elegies. Examples include poems that start furious and end reflective, or start numb and end devastated. Grief shifts; your poem can too.

Instead of keeping the same tone from start to finish, ask:

• Do I want the reader to feel more at peace by the end, or more unsettled?
• Does the speaker gain any insight, or do they stay lost?

Your answers will guide how tone and mood evolve.

Use concrete details, not just abstract sadness

“A great soul is gone” is abstract. “His coffee mug still on the counter” is concrete.

Elegies that stick with readers usually ground their tone and mood in real images: a hospital room, a favorite jacket, a park bench, a voicemail that will never be answered. That’s true in older poems and in recent work responding to loss.

Psychologists and grief researchers, including those referenced by the National Institutes of Health (nih.gov), often note that storytelling and specific memories can help people process grief. Elegies tap into that same instinct: they turn raw feeling into language and image.

Why elegies still matter in a hyper-digital, always-on world

It might seem like elegies belong to churchyards and handwritten letters, not group chats and streaming platforms. But look around: every time a celebrity dies, social media fills with little elegies—short posts that mix tone and mood in real time.

Some are sarcastic (especially when a controversial figure dies). Some are reverent. Some are bitter about injustice. Those reactions mirror the range you see in formal elegies.

In 2024, poets are writing elegies for:

• victims of mass shootings
• those lost to the opioid crisis
• lives disrupted by climate disasters
• communities fractured by war and displacement

Organizations and academic centers, such as university writing programs and mental health initiatives, sometimes encourage writing as a way to cope with loss. While sites like Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic.org) and NIH focus on the medical and psychological dimensions of grief, poetry offers a parallel space: not treatment, but meaning-making.

When you look at modern examples of tone and mood in elegies, examples include poems that are angry at systems, tender toward individuals, and deeply conflicted about hope. That complexity is exactly what makes them feel honest in a messy world.

FAQ: Tone and mood in elegies

What is an example of a hopeful mood in an elegy?

Whitman’s “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” offers a hopeful mood by the end. The tone shifts from stunned grief to a gentle, accepting reverence for death as part of nature’s cycle. The reader is left with a mood that’s still sad, but also calm and quietly hopeful.

Can an elegy be angry? Any strong examples?

Yes. Milton’s “Lycidas” includes an angry passage attacking corrupt clergy. The tone there is outraged, and the mood for the reader becomes heated and indignant. Many contemporary elegies for victims of violence also use anger as a driving force.

Are there examples of humorous tone in elegies?

It’s rare, but some modern poets use dark humor. The tone might be wry or ironic, especially in elegies about complicated relationships. The mood for the reader becomes bittersweet—laughter caught in the throat. This approach shows up more often in contemporary poetry and spoken word than in older, formal elegies.

What are some of the best examples of tone and mood in elegies to study for class?

Strong starting points include Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” Auden’s “Funeral Blues,” Milton’s “Lycidas,” Shelley’s “Adonais,” and Natasha Trethewey’s “Elegy.” Together, these give a wide range of tones and moods—from quiet reflection to theatrical despair to tender remembrance.

How can I analyze tone and mood in an elegy for an essay?

Start by marking specific words, images, and lines that feel emotionally charged. Ask yourself: does the speaker sound calm, bitter, resigned, reverent, or something else? That’s tone. Then check your own reaction as a reader: do you feel comforted, disturbed, nostalgic, angry, or soothed? That’s mood. Use short quotations as real examples of tone and mood in elegies, and explain how each example shapes your overall response.

Tone and mood are not accessories in an elegy; they are the experience. By paying attention to the best examples of tone and mood in elegies—examples and insights from both classic and contemporary work—you don’t just learn how poets grieve. You learn how language carries us through what might otherwise be unspeakable.