Both Uses
lament
in
Mrs. Dalloway
(Auto-generated)
- I must tell the whole world, Septimus cried, raising his hand (as the dead man in the grey suit came nearer), raising his hand like some colossal figure who has lamented the fate of man for ages in the desert alone with his hands pressed to his forehead, furrows of despair on his cheeks, and now sees light on the desert's edge which broadens and strikes the iron-black figure (and Septimus half rose from his chair), and with legions of men prostrate behind him he, the giant mourner, receives for one moment on his face the whole— "But I am so unhappy, Septimus," said Rezia trying to make him sit down.†
lamented = expressed grief or regret
- The millions lamented; for ages they had sorrowed.†
*
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.