Literary notes about Lamentation (AI summary)
The word "lamentation" is used in literature to evoke a profound sense of sorrow and mourning, whether on a personal level or as a communal, almost ritualistic, expression of grief. It appears in mystical contexts, as in Merlin’s sorrowful wandering [1], and in epic narratives where fate and destiny interweave with destiny’s bitterness, as when heroes and nations alike express their loss [2], [3]. At times, authors depict lamentation as a natural, even inevitable, human response to calamity—emphasizing both individual heartache [4], [5] and broader social grief in the face of tragedy or downfall [6], [7]. This layered application enriches themes by linking personal despair to the universal condition of suffering and loss.
- And this is Merlin’s lamentation:— Ten years and forty, as the toy of lawless ones, Have I been wandering in gloom among sprites.
— from The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by W. Y. Evans-Wentz - The Fate of Aino RUNE V. Wainamoinen's Lamentation RUNE VI.
— from Kalevala : the Epic Poem of Finland — Complete - I say further—and lay my saying to your heart—vex me no more with this weeping and lamentation, all in the cause of the son of Atreus.
— from The Iliad by Homer - Every man carries his taper and breaks out into doleful lamentation.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer - Then the grandmother burst into bitter lamentation.
— from The History of a Crime by Victor Hugo - Yes, indeed. Is there any State in which you will find more of lamentation and sorrow and groaning and pain? Certainly not.
— from The Republic by Plato - And they rent their garments, and made great lamentation, and put ashes on their heads: 4:40.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
