Definition of elegy. plural. elegies. 1 : a poem in elegiac couplets. 2a : a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation especially for one who is deadb : something (as a speech) resembling such a song or poem. 3a : a pensive or reflective poem that is usually nostalgic or melancholyb : a short pensive musical composition.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 â March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator whose works include  Paul Revere's Ride , The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. He was also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri 's The Divine Comedy, and was one of the five Fireside Poets.
Henry David Thoreau was a complex man of many talents who worked hard to shape his craft and his life, seeing little difference between them. Born in 1817, one of his first memories was of staying awake at night looking through the stars to see if I could see God behind them.. One might say he never stopped looking into nature for ultimate Truth.