elegiac vs rueful

elegiac

adj
  • Expressing sorrow or mourning. 

  • Of or relating to an elegy. 

noun
  • A poem composed in the couplet style of classical elegies: a line of dactylic hexameter followed by a line of dactylic pentameter. 

rueful

adj
  • Causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow, especially in a wry or humorous way. 

  • Inspiring pity or compassion. 

  • Bad; woeful; deplorable. 

How often have the words elegiac and rueful occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )