threnody

noun·/ˈθrɛn.ə.di/

A lament for the dead. A song or poem of mourning shaped into art, grief given meter so it can be carried. A threnody is composed, sorrow ordered without being diminished.

Her threnody for her father was plain-spoken, and that plainness made it unbearable.

Etymology

From Greek thrēnōidia “dirge,” from thrēnos “lament” + ōidē “song.” The word is grief plus music.

Related Words

elegya reflective lament; often quieter
coronacha Gaelic funeral lament; more communal and cried
dirgegeneral funeral song
requiema mass for the dead; liturgical kin