This piece owes its existence to Dwimordene's wonderful 'That Which Remains Us' (http://www.henneth-annun.net/stories/chapter.cfm?STID=90) which I read ages ago and which impressed me to no end.

The title, The Dark Night of the Soul, is borrowed from a wonderful song by Loreena McKennitt from her album The Mask and Mirror.

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concerning dates:

As far as I know there’s no canon date (month and day) for Finduilas’ death (if I’m wrong PLEASE tell me) so I had to make one up. I decided on Súlimë a long time ago when I needed the month for a poem so in my fanfic-verse Finduilas dies at the end of Súlimë 2988 TA (in the night of the 25th/26th of Súlimë, to be precise, which is central to this piece).

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ca·thar·sis:

Medicine. - Purgation, especially for the digestive system.

- A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear, described by Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on its audience.

- A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.

Psychology. - A technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.
- The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.

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Concerning poetic forms:

Most of this is written in free verse, but for three of the poems (Who am I to believe that I could keep a star, My future is a mirror of decay and For Finduilas) I have used the triolet form.

The final sonnet In Memory owes a lot to John Donne's wonderful sonnets and is written in the form of a traditional Shakespearean sonnet with three quartrains and a final couplet.