Definition of Lyric PoetryLyric Poetry consists of a poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. The term lyric is now commonly referred to as the words to a song. Lyric poetry does not tell a story which portrays characters and actions. The lyric poet addresses the reader directly, portraying his or her own feeling, state of mind, and perceptions.lyric,a poem that is, or supposedly is, susceptible of being sung to the accompaniment of a musical instrument (in ancient times, usually a lyre) or that expresses intense personal emotion in a manner suggestive of a song. History of lyric poetryInancientGreece an early distinction was made between the poetry chanted by a choir of singers (choral lyrics) and the song that expressed the sentiments of a single poet.Lyric is the dominant poetic idiom inseventeenth century. In the eighteenth century lyric poetry declined in England and France. In Europe the lyric emerges as the principal poetic form of the nineteenth century. In the early years of the twentieth century rhymed lyric poetry, usually expressing the feelings of the poet, was the dominant poetic form in America, Europe and the British colonies.Lyric poetry dealing with relationships, sex and domestic life constituted the new mainstream of American poetry in the late twentieth century, influenced by the confessional poets of the 1950s and 1960s, such asSylvia PlathandAnne Sexton.The lyric is seen as one of the threemain poetry formstoday. However,historically it wasn'talways this way. Nonetheless, the lyric has played an important role in the development of this greatliteraturegenre and has been used for millenniums by authors who simply wanted their poem to have more emotion and thought than the other genres provide.

Lyricpoetryis made up of two forms with many sub-genres. Nonetheless, a common feature in all thesubdivisionsis the use of great emotion and thought.

Traditionally, the refrain was commonly used and included one or several lines that end or follow a strophe and is then repeated throughout the poem, either exact or with a slight variation.However, today the use of refrains is quite rare outside of music.

Types of lyricLyricpoetryis made of twomaintypes: elegy and ode.ElegyA poem of mourning or reflection on the death of an individual.

OdeA serious or thoughtful poem, usually with a formal structure. This type of poem is generally seen as a way to pay homage to a thing or person. This type of lyric is the most popular and includes the sub-genre of sonnets.

Both elegies and odes can be sub-dividedinto several different kinds ofpoetry. Example of lyric

William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?Thou artmore lovely and more temperate.Rough winds do shake thedarling budsof May,And summer's lease hath all too short a date.Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimmed,And every fair from fair sometime declines,By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed. THANK YOU