Weller wrote the elegy in neo-Latin "Y Elegy", which describes how in a poet's dream the letters of the alphabet from a volume of Horace's poetry become alive, and how "A" calls in a demagogic speech for the extermination of the foreign letter Y. "Y" escapes and tries through words (myths, mysticism, rhythm, and physics) to prove its right to exist, but the other letters do not allow themselves to be convinced, and are in the process of excluding "Y". The poet asks for release and awakes from this nightmare.