ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the observations that marked the initial encounters with continuing bonds manifested in a distinct type of communication centered on the expression of grief. More nuanced interpretation of the phenomenon emerged as the expanded scrutiny beyond the eulogy to other genres such as the elegy. Elegy is poetry that regards longing and mourning, while often featuring lamentation, melancholia, and idealization of the deceased. The elegy is noteworthy for its frequent provision of meaning associated with loss, consolation for writers and readers, and considerations of life and mortality. Elegies across the centuries appear to be acutely illustrative of the principles of vividly recalling the deceased and embracing the reality and magnitude of losses. Self-help books have been particularly instructive about allowing each grief experience to follow its own course while also promoting mindful meaning reconstruction and maintenance of loving relationships between survivors and the departed.
