How to Write a Eulogy

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According to the Merriam-Webster's dictionary, eulogy or elegy is the spoken or written tribute that praises someone or something very highly, a tribute to somebody who has recently died or alive. The word is derived from the two Greek words for "you" and "word" (Anton). The elegy dates back to classic Greek poetry containing two lines known as a couplet and combines many of these couplets to create the funeral poem (Anton). The most noted scholar and poet Callimachus, expressed powerful emotions in a shorter form than a full-length epic poem calling these "elegy" that captured many readers with his vivid style of expressing emotions. (funeralhomeestacoma). It wasn't until the 1800s that English poets like Lord Tennyson famous ballad, "The Lady of Shallott" and Thomas Gray's ballad "Elegy Written in a Country Courtyard' conveyed solitude, grief and foreboding ( funeral...). Writers of the Romantic Era such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge used elegiac poetry in a lyrical manner, but over time this was less favored and the elegy worked best as an expression of mourning (funeral...).
The eulogy describes the person's life, how they lived, their achievements, and the love ones left behind. Sometimes the eulogy can be very long or short, given by a love one or friend. The eulogy allows the survivors to learn more about the departed from stories and experiences which are shared in hopes of lessening pain and allowing for closure in the death of a love one.

How to Write a Eulogy
According to Kevin Burch, professional Funeral Presider, providing the eulogy has three functions; first, by honoring the memory of a special person, second, giving the survivors the gifts of sharing, of fondly rememb...

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...7. http://www.eulogyspeeches.net/writing_a_eulogy.html. Web 14 Mar.2014.

Works Cited

Anton, Ben "Funeral Poems-The History of the Eulogy & Elegy" http://EzineArticles.com/?expert+Ben Anton. Web. 14 Mar.2014.
Anton, Ben. "Eulogy Writing: The Origins of Funeral Eulogy Poems." Www.articlebase.com. 28 June 2008. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
Burch, Kevin. 6 Simple Steps to Writing A Eulogy to Remember. Rep. http://www.eulogyspeeches.net/a_eulogy_to_rember.html, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
A Brief History of Eulogies, and Why They are Used at Funerals. Mountain View Funeral Home, Memorial Park & Crematory. www.funeralhomestacoma.com/home. Web. 14 Mar 2014.
Eulogy Writer: http://www.eulogywriter.com.au/eulogy_research.html. Web. 14 Mar 2014.
Writing a Eulogy Speech, 2007. http://www.eulogyspeeches.net/writing_a_eulogy.html. Web 14 Mar.2014.

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