Threnody vs. Elegy — What's the Difference?

A threnody is a wailing ode, song, hymn or poem of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person. The term originates from the Greek word θρηνῳδία (threnoidia), from θρῆνος (threnos, "wailing") and ᾠδή (oide, "ode"), the latter ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂weyd- ("to sing") that is also the precursor of such words as "ode", "tragedy", "comedy", "parody", "melody" and "rhapsody".

In English literature, an elegy is a poem of serious reflection, usually a lament for the dead. However, "for all of its pervasiveness ...

A poem or song of mourning or lamentation.

A poem composed in elegiac couplets.

A song or poem of lamentation or mourning for a dead person; a dirge; an elegy.

A poem or song composed especially as a lament for a deceased person.

A song of lamentation; a threnode.

Something resembling such a poem or song.

A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person

(Music) A composition that is melancholy or pensive in tone.

A mournful or plaintive poem; a funeral song; a poem of lamentation.

(music) A composition of mournful character.

A classical poem written in elegiac meter

A mournful or plaintive poem; a funereal song; a poem of lamentation.

A mournful poem; a lament for the dead