What is Lyric?

The word ‘Lyric’ is closely related to the word ‘lyre’, a kind of musical instrument. In ancient Greece, some poems were sung in accompany with the lyre. Such a poem came to be known as a lyrical poem.

The main characteristic of the lyric is its musical stains inbuilt in its texture. Its music or lyricism is achieved by the use of alliteration, assonance, rhythm, rhyme, meters, and lucid diction. It is subjective in nature and capable of sustaining powerful emotion. Traditionally, the subjects of the lyric are love, sense of loss or nostalgia, heroism, death, emotional crises, and the like.

Lyric is divided into several genres such as the sonnet, ode, elegy, and dramatic monologue. Shakespeare’s sonnets, Keats’ odes, Thomas Gray’s elegies, and the dramatic monologues of Tennyson and Robert Browning are the perfect example of English Lyrical Poems.

A lyric poem is a short poem that expresses personal feelings, emotions, and thoughts. It does not tell a full story like an epic or narrative poem. Lyric poems often focus on love, nature, beauty, or deep emotions.

Features of Lyric Poetry

Expresses Personal Feelings – It focuses on emotions like love, sadness, joy, or hope.
Musical Quality – It has rhythm and sometimes rhyme, making it sound like a song.
Short Length – It is usually brief and not long like an epic.
Strong Imagery – It uses descriptive words to create pictures in the reader’s mind.
Single Speaker – It is written in the first person (“I” or “my”) to express personal thoughts.

Famous Lyric Poets

William Wordsworth – A Romantic poet who wrote about nature and emotions.
John Keats – Wrote deep and beautiful poems about love and beauty.
Sappho – An ancient Greek poet known for passionate and emotional poetry.
Pablo Neruda – A modern poet who wrote about love and human emotions.
Emily Dickinson – Wrote short and powerful poems about life and nature.

Famous Lyric Poems and Their Descriptions

1. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth

This poem describes the poet’s joy when he sees a field of golden daffodils. He feels happy and peaceful. Later, when he is alone, he remembers the daffodils, and his heart fills with joy again. The poem has strong imagery, rhythm, and deep emotion.

Lines from the poem:
“A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

2. “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats

This poem talks about a nightingale’s song and how it makes the poet feel. The bird’s song is beautiful and takes the poet into a dreamlike world. The poem explores life, death, and beauty. The poet wishes to escape pain and sorrow by joining the bird in its eternal song.

Lines from the poem:
“Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down.”

3. “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson

This poem presents death as a kind and gentle person. The poet imagines riding in a carriage with Death, traveling towards eternity. The poem has deep meaning, calm tone, and strong imagery.

Lines from the poem:
“Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.”

Lyric poems are emotional, musical, and expressive. They connect deeply with human feelings.