We explain what an obituary is, its characteristics and differences with an obituary. Also, what is the digital obituary and various examples.
What is an obituary?
It is called obituary, funeral notice or mortuary notice to a certain type of texts or notes that are disseminated to the public and that give notice of the death of a person determined. Its diffusion can be in media or places of mass transit. They should not be confused with obituaries, which are texts written to honor the life history of the deceased, rather than to inform third parties of their death.
Obituaries are generally drawn up by the deceased's relatives or close friends, or by institutions or groups to which he belonged in life, and are usually printed in such a way that the text is within a black or gray box, and is often accompanied by crosses or other solemn religious icons.
Characteristics of the obituaries
Broadly speaking, the obituaries are characterized by the following:
- They are short funeral texts, written by those close to the deceased, whose purpose is to publicly inform about his death.
- Its content is usually accompanied by religious icons (depending on the religion of the deceased) and phrases from the religious liturgy, such as the popular RIP (Riescat in pace, "May he rest in peace" in Latin), or similar euphemisms.
- The prominent place in the text corresponds to the full name of the deceased, in bold or highlighted in some way, and below their noble titles, aliases, academic degrees, or simply phrases with which the deceased was known. Finally, below, the age you were when you died, the place and the date when the death occurred.
- They can also include the names of those who are firing you, whether they are close friends, relatives or partners, and the invitation to funeral acts (wake, burial or both).
Digital obituary
The overcrowding of Internet and the 2.0 world has allowed the appearance of digital obituaries, that is, of mortuary publications on specialized web portals, online newspapers and other digital public spaces, such as social networks or distribution lists by email. Thus, the dissemination of this type of text is faster and more massive than ever before, and is part of the commercial services available online.
Examples of obituaries
Some examples of obituaries are the following:
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