Turkish elegies have been researched for about 40 years by folklore scholars. In these studies, recorded elegies from certain regions have been examined, defined and categorized. In a major part of the literature, elegies have been classified based on form, content and function, and their general literary characteristics have been determined accordingly. When a consensus could not be reached on these three factors, reviewing the music of elegies has been emphasized. In this article, which we based on the M.A. Thesis titled Anadolu Ağıt Geleneğinin Özellikleri ve Kültürel Süreklilikteki Rolü (The Characteristics of Anatolian Elegy Tradition and its Role in Cultural Continuity), especially the section called “Literary Characteristics of Elegies”, we look into current practices of elegy making and all ingredients that might sustain this culture of elegy production. We also investigate definitions and classifications about elegies in the literature. Also, folk songs about death in the TRT Folk Music Repertoire, bozlak, divan, gazel, folk songs and lullabies about death recorded from official sources as well as samples of Turkish elegies from various field recordings have been studied in terms of form, content, function and music in order to come up with more than what has already been said about properties of elegies in the literature. Data in this study have been gathered through a review of literature and scrutiny of music archives as well as interviews in various field studies. In this study, the existing literature and the findings from the data analysis have been compared in order to draw non-literary conclusions