[5] The epistles, written and performed in different styles, from drinking songs and laments to pastorales, paint a complex picture of the life of the city during the 18th century.

A frequent theme is the demimonde, with Fredman's cheerfully drunk Order of Bacchus,[6] a loose company of ragged men who favour strong drink and prostitutes.

At the same time as depicting this realist side of life, Bellman creates a rococo picture, full of classical allusion, following the French post-Baroque poets.

The women, including the beautiful Ulla Winblad, are "nymphs", while Neptune's festive troop of followers and sea-creatures sport in Stockholm's waters.

Vinkar Charon från sin brusande älf, Och tre gånger sen Dödgräfvaren sjelf, Mer du din drufva ej kryster.

The scholar of literature Lars Lönnroth writes that Bellman often begins with a priestly tone, as he does for this churchyard epistle, before turning from the elegiac to a drinking-orgy, as Fredman and the other guests are unmasked.

The language, the genre, the voice, and the roles played all switch over, he observes, from the elevated to a drinking song's slapdash interaction.

[19] The Swedish folk singer Sofia Karlsson included it in her 2007 album Visor från vinden, alongside works by poets such as Baudelaire and Dan Andersson; it was the only Bellman song in the collection.

[20] The Danish metal band Evil Masquerade included the song, in Swedish, in their 2016 album The Outcast Hall of Fame.

Another English translation, entitled Castrum Doloris, was recorded by the Swedish black metal band Marduk on their 2003 album World Funeral.