'Dr. Kay's book is a welcome addition to the Oxford English Monographs series. Kay has produced a substantial, scholarly, and well written account of the most seminal; period in the history of the English funeral elegy. His research is wide-ranging and up to date. He is consistently good on the role of the elegiac speaker, his functions, self-presentation and interests, and on the communal aspects of mourning.'
David Thatcher, Archiv, 1992