epithalamium (redirected from epithalamiums)

epithalamium (ĕp'ĭthəlā`mēəm), song or poem written to celebrate a marriage. An elaborate form of pastoral, the epithalamium usually tells of the happenings of the wedding day. Nymphs, shepherds, and appropriate mythological figures are present to share the poet's joy. Epithalamiums were written in ancient times by Pindar, Sappho, and Catullus. The biblical Song of Solomon is a classic of the genre as is Edmund Spenser's "Epithalamium" (1595), written to celebrate his own marriage.

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epithalamium

 or epithalamion

Nuptial song or poem in honour or praise of a bride and bridegroom. In ancient Greece such songs were a traditional way of invoking good fortune on a marriage and often of indulging in ribaldry. The earliest evidence for literary epithalamiums are fragments by Sappho; the oldest surviving Latin examples are three by Catullus. In the Renaissance, epithalamiums based on classical models were written in Italy, France, and England; that of Edmund Spenser (1595) is considered the finest in English.

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epithalamium

poem in honor of bride and groom. [Western Lit.: LLEI, 1: 283]

See : Marriage