Definition of Lyric Poetry

Lyric 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 poetry

In ancient Greece 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 in seventeenth 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 as Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton.

The lyric is seen as one of the three main poetry

forms today. However, historically it wasn't always this
way. Nonetheless, the lyric has played an important role
in the development of this great literature genre and has
been used for millenniums by authors who simply wanted
their poem to have more emotion and thought than the
other genres provide.
Lyric poetry is made up of two forms with many subgenres. Nonetheless, a common feature in all
the subdivisions is 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 lyric
Lyric poetry is made of two main types: elegy and ode.
Elegy
A poem of mourning or reflection on the death of an
individual.

Ode
A 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-divided into several
different kinds of poetry.

Example of lyric

William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of 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.

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