This article analyzes how William Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying constructs and relocates expressions of lament (grief) through symbolic forms such as elegy and effigy. The study examines how characters process grief and how the narrative transforms traditional expressions of mourning into alternative cultural and literary forms. By exploring the “alchemy” of lament—its transformation and displacement within the novel—the author illuminates Faulkner’s innovative narrative strategies and his reconfiguration of loss and emotional expression.