Lyric: origin, definition, types & examples

 Lyric: in this article you will understand what is a Lyric poetry, it's origin, definition, types & examples. This is especially created for B.A. English honours semester l students of BBMKU & VBU. You can read other similar article on our website.

Table of Contents 
1. Lyric Origin
2. Lyric Definition
3. Types of Lyric
4. Lyric Examples

Lyric Poetry Origin:

The term lyric comes from the Greek word 'lyre' which means "a musical instrument". Lyrics were short narrative. They were short song sung with lyre.

Lyric Poetry Definition:

Lyric poem is one of the most popular form of subjective poetry or personal poetry. It is one of the oldest form of poetry. Lyric is a short narrative. They were short song accompanied by lyre, a musical instrument. It is concerned with the poet or poetess and with his or her feelings, thoughts and emotions. It is a poetry of self delineation and self expression. The main theme or topic of lyric Poetry are the poet himself and the essence of such poetry is the personality of the poet. In lyric Poetry we mostly find poet's or poetess' own feelings thoughts and emotions are given expression in a lyrical manner. A 16th century English poet Thomas Wyatt had introduced lyric to England. Traditionally, lyric Poetry contains themes like - love, life, happiness, devotion, patriotism, friendship etc.

Types of Lyric Poetry:

There are mainly two types of lyric Poetry: personal lyric Poetry and impersonal lyric Poetry. Both are given below:

(1) Personal Lyric Poetry: In this kind of lyric Poetry the poet composes poem based on his or her own, feelings, thoughts and emotions. 

(2) Impersonal Lyric Poetry: In this kind of lyric poetry the poet targets social occasions such as festival, marriage, etc. and writes lyric poetry on the particular occasion.

Lyric poetry Examples and Poets:

There are several examples of lyric poetry. Some of the famous examples and their poets are given below: 

(1) A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns: It is one of the most famous poems of Robert Burns which was published in 1794. It is a love poem which is considered a popular example of lyric poetry. In this poetry the poet expresses his unboundable love for his lover. 

(2) Nightingales by Robert Bridge: Nightingale by Robert Bridge is considered one of the most famous example if lyric poetry. In this poem the poet talks with the nightingale. The poet asks questions to the nightingale and the nightingale answers. 

(3) The True Beauty by Thomas Carew: This is also a popular example of lyric poetry. In this poem the poet discuss about the true beauty. The poet Thomas Carew says that a true beauty should not be judged by skin but by heart, physical beauty would die one day but the beauty of heart would not.

(4) Our Casuarina Tree by Toru Dutt: it is also a famous lyric Poetry composed by Toru Dutt. In this poem she gives a description of her childhood memories with her siblings.

RELATED POSTS

Ballad: origin, definition, types & examples
Poetry: origin, definition, types & examples
B.A. Semester l syllabus
Elegy: origin. definition. types & examples
Epic: origin. definition. types & examples