The Library of Congress > Linked Data Service > LC Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT)

Epitaphs


  • Inscriptions commemorating the dead that are etched on tombstones and graves.

  • URI(s)

  • Instance Of

  • Scheme Membership(s)

  • Collection Membership(s)

  • Form

    • Epitaphs

  • Broader Terms

    • Commemorative works

  • Closely Matching Concepts from Other Schemes

  • Sources

    • found: The Teachers & Writers handbook of poetic forms, c2000(Epitaph. An epitaph (from ancient Greek, meaning "upon a tomb") is an inscription on a tomb, or writing suitable for that purpose. The epitaph can be in prose or poetry; if poetry, it can be in any rhythmical pattern or none, rhymed or unrhymed. It should not be confused with the elegy, which, although often similar to the epitaph in subject and tone, is quite a bit longer. Epitaphs range from the lofty to the coarse, from the sublimely serious to the shockingly hilarious.)
    • found: Ruse, C. The Cassell dictionary of literary and language terms, 1992(Epitaph: An inscription on a gravestone or tomb; it can be of any variety, such as a short phrase or a complimentary, pious or satirical verse; An epitaph can also be a commemorative comment, either referring to another person or to oneself, that is not produced as an inscription.)
    • found: Poetry foundation, via WWW, Jan. 9, 2013(Epitaph: A short poem intended for (or imagined as) an inscription on a tombstone and often serving as a brief elegy.)
    • found: Devlin, D.D. Wordsworth and the poetry of epitaphs, 1981.

  • General Notes

    • Inscriptions commemorating the dead that are etched on tombstones and graves.

  • Change Notes

    • 2014-12-01: new
    • 2015-12-14: revised

  • Alternate Formats

    • Suggest Alternative Terminology

Suggest terminology


The LC Linked Data Service welcomes any suggestions you might have about terminology used for a given heading or concept.

Would you like to suggest a change to this heading?

Please provide your name, email, and your suggestion so that we can begin assessing any terminology changes.

Fields denoted with an asterisk (*) are required.