The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms - Ross Murfin 2018

Dirge

Dirge: A song or poem of mourning, typically intended for a funeral, that is written to commemorate and lament someone’s death. Dirges should be distinguished from elegies, which may lament loss or death more generally as well as the death of a particular person; are typically longer, more formal, and more reflective in character; and are intended to be read rather than sung.

EXAMPLES: Ariel’s song in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest (c. 1611), lamenting the death of Ferdinand’s father; Peter Gabriel’s song “Biko” (1980), lamenting the murder of South African civil rights leader Stephen Biko.