Here's why:
* Elegies are a form, not a strict structure: While elegies often express sorrow and mourning, they're not bound by a specific number of lines, stanzas, or rhyme schemes.
* Variety is key: Elegies can be short and focused, or long and sprawling. They can be written in free verse, traditional forms like sonnets or villanelles, or any other style the poet chooses.
* Focus on content: What matters most is the poem's theme of loss and remembrance, and how effectively the poet conveys these emotions.
Examples:
* "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman is a short and powerful elegy in free verse.
* "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" by Thomas Gray is a much longer and more complex elegy in traditional verse form.
So, when writing or reading an elegy, don't focus on counting lines. Instead, pay attention to the emotions and ideas the poem evokes.