American Poetry: American Elegy

This course examines the literary, social, political, and cultural importance of American mourning poetry. Covering mainly the antebellum period to the present, we explore the expanding role and enduring power of elegy as it evolves across a range of subgenres. Likely topics include deathbed elegies, child elegies, slave elegies, war elegies, lynch elegies, family elegies, eco-elegies, and anti-elegies.