Lyric | Literary Term | English Literature | Major English | Plus Two Level
Lyric
is a song-like poem written mainly to express the feelings of emotions or
thought from a particular person, thus separating it from narrative poems. These poems are generally short, averaging roughly
twelve to thirty lines, and rarely go beyond sixty lines. These poems express
vivid imagination as well as emotion and all flow fairly concisely. Because of
this aspect, as well as their steady rhythm, they were often used in song. In
fact, most people still see a lyric as anything that is sung along to a musical
instrument. It is believed that the lyric began in its earliest stage in
Ancient Egypt around 2600 BC in the forms of elegies, odes, or hymns generated
out of religious ceremonies. Some of the more note-worthy authors who have used
the lyric include William Blake, William Wordsworth, John Keats, and William
Shakespeare-who helped popularize the sonnet, another type of lyric. The
importance of understanding the lyric can best be shown through its remarkable
ability to express with such imagination the innermost emotions of the
soul.
.jpg)
