The Best Examples of Elegy Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide

Starting With Real Examples of Elegy Writing

Instead of beginning with a dry definition, let’s start with the feeling. The best examples of elegy writing don’t read like textbook exercises; they read like someone trying to speak honestly to and about the person (or thing) they’ve lost.

Here’s a short, modern example of an elegy you might write for a grandparent:

You taught me how to slice the summer peaches,
sticky juice running to my elbows,
while the fan hummed in the window.
Now the kitchen is quieter than it should be,
the knife too clean,
the bowl too empty.

It’s simple, conversational, and grounded in a specific memory. That’s the heart of most strong examples of elegy writing: not fancy language, but vivid detail and honest emotion.

Classic Examples of Elegy Writing to Learn From

Before we build your own poem, it helps to glance at a few famous examples. These are not just museum pieces; they’re working models. Some of the best examples of elegy writing include:

• “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson – A quiet, eerie conversation with Death as a carriage driver. You can read many of Dickinson’s poems through the Poetry Foundation.
• “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” by Thomas Gray – A reflective elegy that mourns not just one person, but all the unnoticed, ordinary lives. Available through resources like Bartleby.
• “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman – A public elegy for Abraham Lincoln, mixing personal grief with national mourning. You can find Whitman’s work through the Library of Congress.

These classic examples of elegy writing show a pattern you can borrow:

• They focus on a specific person or loss.
• They build a mood through images (carriage, churchyard, ship).
• They move from shock or pain toward some kind of reflection.

You don’t need to copy their style, but you can copy their approach.

A Step-by-Step Guide: From Memory to Elegy

Let’s turn this into a practical, step-by-step guide using real examples. Think of this as a conversation rather than a formula.

Step 1: Choose Your Focus

Most examples of elegy writing start with a clear subject:

• A person who died (a grandparent, friend, teacher, public figure)
• A relationship that ended
• A lost home, hometown, or time in your life

Try this:

“I want to write an elegy for ________, because ________.”

For example:

I want to write an elegy for my high school choir teacher, because she believed in my voice before I did.

That simple sentence gives your elegy a direction and emotional center.

Step 2: Gather Specific Images

The best examples of elegy writing include concrete details, not just big feelings. Instead of “I miss you so much,” think about:

• Objects (the chipped mug, the baseball cap, the perfume)
• Places (the back porch, the hospital room, the bus stop)
• Sounds and smells (their laugh, the radio station they loved, the smell of their cooking)

For a teacher elegy, your notes might look like this:

• Her red pen
• The way she clapped once to quiet the room
• The piano with one broken key
• The smell of dust and sheet music

These details are what turn a vague tribute into a living, breathing poem.

Step 3: Decide on Tone and Shape

Elegies don’t all sound the same. When you look at different examples of elegy writing, you’ll notice a range of tones:

• Gentle and reflective
• Angry and raw
• Nostalgic and bittersweet
• Public and ceremonial

You also get to choose the shape. Many modern elegies are written in free verse (no fixed rhyme or meter), which gives you room to speak naturally. If you’re just starting, free verse is often the most forgiving.

Try saying this out loud:

“Do I want this elegy to sound like a quiet conversation, a speech, a letter, or a prayer?”

Pick one, and let that guide your voice.

Step 4: Write a Messy First Draft

Now, write as if you’re talking directly to the person (or thing) you lost. Many real examples of elegy writing use second person ("you") because it feels intimate.

Here’s a draft-style example for that choir teacher:

You clapped once and the whole room fell silent,
even the old radiator stopped rattling for you.
Your red pen bled over our music,
not angry, just certain,
circling the notes where we forgot to breathe.
The piano key you warned us about still sticks,
but now there’s no one to laugh when it does.

Notice what’s happening:

• No forced rhymes
• Short, direct lines
• Specific memories instead of abstract statements

This is exactly how many of the best examples of elegy writing begin: as a raw, imperfect spill of memory.

Step 5: Add Movement – From Grief to Insight

Elegies usually travel. They don’t just sit in sadness; they move toward some kind of understanding, even if it’s small. When you look at strong examples of elegy writing, you’ll see this emotional shift.

Ask yourself:

• What did this person (or time) teach me?
• How am I different because of them?
• What do I want to say to them that I never got to say?

Continuing our choir teacher example:

We still stand in three crooked rows,
pretending we don’t need a leader.
But when the high notes scare me,
I hear you anyway—
“lift your chin, trust the air,"
and somehow the note doesn’t break.

You are the breath I take before I’m brave.

That last line is the insight: the poem discovers what the speaker carries forward.

Step 6: Shape and Tighten

Once you have a draft, read it out loud. Most effective examples of elegy writing sound like a voice you believe, not like someone trying to impress a teacher.

While revising, you can:

• Cut repeated lines that don’t add anything new.
• Replace vague words ("nice,” “sad,” “good") with sharper images.
• Break long sentences into shorter lines to give the reader room to feel each moment.

You might end up with a short, polished elegy like this:

You clapped once and the room remembered
how to listen.
Your red pen turned our mistakes
into second chances,
circles and arrows pointing toward
the notes we were afraid to reach.

Now the piano key sticks in the empty room,
but I still hear you—
“lift your chin, trust the air"—
every time my voice trembles.

You are the breath
before I am brave.

This is the kind of piece you might see in a modern anthology of student elegies or as one of the best examples in a classroom handout.

Different Types of Elegy: Real Examples Include More Than Death

People often assume elegies are only about physical death, but modern examples of elegy writing include other kinds of loss too.

Here are several short, real-world style examples:

Elegy for a Lost Home

They’ve painted over the crayon marks
we left on the hallway wall,
straight lines of new color
erasing our crooked castles.
The oak tree out front still leans
toward the street,
but it no longer knows my name.

Elegy for a Childhood Version of Yourself

You were all scraped knees
and cereal at midnight,
inventing secret languages
no one else could speak.
I traded you for calendars
and careful emails,
but some nights I still hear you
humming in the dark.

Elegy for a Lost Job or Career

I turned in my badge at 5:03,
its plastic weight lighter
than the silence that followed.
The desk plant will outlive
every deadline we met,
still leaning toward the office window
long after my name is gone.

These examples of elegy writing show how flexible the form can be. If there is loss, memory, and reflection, you’re probably in elegy territory.

How 2024–2025 Writers Are Using Elegy

If you browse recent online journals or university writing programs, you’ll notice some trends in newer examples of elegy writing:

• Collective grief: Poems about climate change, pandemics, or political violence, mourning not just one person but a whole way of life.
• Hybrid forms: Elegies mixed with text messages, emails, or social media posts, reflecting how we actually communicate now.
• Everyday language: Less interest in old-fashioned, flowery style; more interest in clear, direct speech.

Many creative writing programs and open courses, such as those listed through sites like Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education, often share reading lists that include contemporary elegy examples. Checking recent issues of nonprofit literary organizations and journals (for instance, those linked through the Poetry Foundation) is a good way to see how poets in 2024–2025 are pushing the form.

A Mini Workshop: Build Your Own Elegy Line by Line

To make this guide genuinely practical, let’s walk through a quick exercise you can follow.

Imagine you’re writing an elegy for a friend you lost touch with, not through death, but through time.

1. Name one specific memory.

   The night we watched meteor showers from your roof.

2. Add a sensory detail.

   The tar still warm under our backs,
   the smell of your neighbor’s laundry drifting up.

3. Show what’s different now.

   Now I check the sky from my apartment window,
   and the stars feel farther than you.

4. Find a small insight.

   I didn’t know then that some constellations
   are just stars that look close from far away.

Put together, you get a short elegy that fits right alongside other modern examples of elegy writing:

The tar was still warm under our backs,
laundry soap drifting up from next door,
while we named every falling light
like it might remember us.

Now I watch the sky from a smaller window,
and the stars feel farther than you.
I didn’t know then that some constellations
are only strangers
pretending to be close.

Frequently Asked Questions About Elegy Writing

What is an example of a simple elegy for beginners?

A simple beginner elegy might be just 6–10 lines focused on one memory. For instance, the short elegy for a grandparent and the elegy for a lost home earlier in this guide are both realistic beginner-level examples. They show that strong examples of elegy writing don’t have to be long or complicated; they just need clear images and honest emotion.

Do elegies have to rhyme?

No. Many of the best examples of elegy writing in the 20th and 21st centuries are written in free verse. Rhyme can work if it comes naturally, but forced rhyme can distract from the feeling. Focus first on what you want to say; if some lines naturally echo each other in sound, that’s a bonus, not a requirement.

Can I write an elegy for something other than death?

Yes. Modern examples include elegies for lost neighborhoods, extinct animals, broken friendships, or even old versions of ourselves. As long as you’re honoring something gone and reflecting on what it meant, you’re working in the elegiac mode.

How long should an elegy be?

Elegies range from short, 8-line pieces to long, book-length works. For practice, many teachers suggest starting with a one-page poem. If you look at classroom handouts or writing prompts from university sites and nonprofit organizations, you’ll see lots of short examples of elegy writing that fit on a single page and still carry real weight.

Where can I read more examples of elegy writing online?

You can explore:

• The Poetry Foundation for classic and contemporary elegies.
• The Library of Congress for historic American poems, including public elegies.
• Online course materials from universities such as Harvard or other .edu sites that share sample poems and assignments.

Reading widely is one of the best ways to see how different writers solve the same problem: how to turn grief into language.

If you keep even a handful of these examples of elegy writing in the back of your mind—a grandparent in the kitchen, a teacher in a choir room, a friend on a rooftop—you’ll never be starting from a blank page. You’ll be joining a long, ongoing conversation about loss, memory, and what we carry forward.