Epithalamion

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In ancient Greece an epithalamion was composed to honor a newlywed couple. The word derives from the Greek epithalamios which means "of a wedding", epi (of) + thalamos (bridal chamber.) This form continued in popularity through the history of the classical world; the Roman poet Catullus wrote a famous epithalamion, which was translated from or at least inspired by a now-lost work of Sappho.

The epithalamion was revived as a poetic form in 1595 by Edmund Spenser in Amoretti And Epithalamion, a composition of 89 sonnets, a lyric conclusion, and a 433 line epithalamion. E. E. Cummings also returns to the form in his poem Epithalamion, which appears in his 1923 book Tulips and Chimneys. E.E.Cummings' Epithalamion consists of three seven octave parts, and includes numerous references to ancient Greece.