This article examines various aspects of Johannes Secundus’ Elegia Sollemnis 1 within a Classical Latin and neo-Latin context in an attempt to further appreciation of the poem. Generic admixture and innovation are considered first, to provide an overview. Then there is an investigation of the poet’s indebtedness to and variations on his various sources, namely Horace’s spring poems (especially Odes 1.4), Tito Strozzi, Catullus, and Tibullus. Study of the mood of the elegy (a bittersweet combination of reflectiveness and melancholy) is followed by discussion of the impact of the end of the piece and its contrast with the opening.