As a social, cultural, and historical phenomenon, death plays a central role in human life. Death and post-mortem practices, which vary according to different religions, beliefs, and periods, have led to the emergence of various literary genres. The fact that death takes place in the main plot with the death of Kutadgu Bilig's two fictional main characters, Aytoldı and Odgurmış, has led to the investigation of whether there is a literary genre in which the death theme is handled in the work. Accordingly, the aim of this study is whether there is a literary genre such as lamen tor elegy, in which the subject of death is handled, in Kutadgu Bilig, and if so, what the form and content features of this genre, its value and function in terms of literature; on the other hand, it is aimed to contribute to the field by determining an example and historical foundations of the death-related genre in Kutadgu Bilig and building a bridge between yesterday and today. For these purposes, the similarities and differences of the related couplets in Kutadgu Bilig with the mentioned genres were tried to be evaluated around the studies dealing with elegies in Turkish folk literature and laments in classical Turkish literature, by following a comparative synchronic method, diachronic method when deemed necessary. In this direction, the related couplets in Kutadgu Bilig have been evaluated, and compared with various publications within the tradition of elegy, which is thought to be the first and oldest genre and has been the subject of much research, and continues its existence as a literary product that ensures the continuation of the tradition despite its changing structure in the historical process. The views on the meter and the number of couplets of Kutadgu Bilig were discussed; although the work is written in classical Turkish literature verse and meter, it has been tried to determine the language, style, and structural features of the elegy in it by mentioning to its structure that includes different forms and genres. Thus, in which place, for what reason, in what way, and when the elegy in Kutadgu Bilig is said; it has been tried to determine the role of the elegy as a carrier of social and cultural memory in the transmission of tradition and one of the oral culture elements in written culture.

Kutadgu Bilig, folklore, death, elegy, lament.