All 3 Uses
lament
in
Oedipus the King
(Auto-generated)
- What means this reek of incense everywhere, And everywhere laments and litanies?†
*laments = expresses grief or regret
- But other grievous things he prophesied, Woes, lamentations, mourning, portents dire; To wit I should defile my mother's bed And raise up seed too loathsome to behold, And slay the father from whose loins I sprang.†
lamentations = passionate expressions of grief or sorrow
- Till now the storied fortune of this house Was fortunate indeed; but from this day Woe, lamentation, ruin, death, disgrace, All ills that can be named, all, all are theirs.†
lamentation = passionate expression of grief or sorrow
Definitions:
-
(1)
(lament) to express grief or regret
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Although lament typically refers to a feeling or simple vocal expression, it can refer to a vocal expression as complex as a sad song or poem. It can even refer to sad, but non-vocal music -- as when Tennessee Williams references background music in A Streetcar Named Desire.