What are epitaphs?

Memorial quotes—or epitaphs—are engraved on memorials like cemetery markers and mausoleums to portray the significance and memory of a lost loved one. Our list of examples of epitaphs includes different points of view, because they can be written by the person themselves or a beloved posthumous.

What’s the difference between an epitaph and an elegy?

Their size. Epitaphs are usually one-liners, and while elegies do not have a set form, they are longer than epitaphs. An Elegy is a mournful or plaintive poem; a funeral song; a poem of lamentation.

Some of the most notable are epitaphs Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) – “That’s all folks. And Frank Sinatra Epitaph: “The best is yet to come”

Most memorials or monuments include your lost loved one’s name, relationship, birth and death date. It common to use famous lyrics, ancient proverbs and quotes like this:

“There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.”

—Mahatma Gandhi

“Music, when soft voices die, vibrates in the memory.”

―Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

—Nelson Mandela

See other Types of Poems!

Examples Of Epitaphs

Written by the family:

Devoted mother

Rest in peace

Here lies my beloved

Forever in our hearts

Never forgotten

Written by the person themselves:

We lived together in happiness. Now we rest together in peace. (Couple)

Finally free

Take your time

Peace at last

See on the other side

Here lies our bones waiting for yours. See photo below (Portugal’s Chapel of Bones in Évora)

See our example of Prose Poetry!