Literature Atlas

How Stories Are Told
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Genre

Lyric Poetry

Also Known As Lyric Verse
Lyric and Short Poetic Forms

A genre of poetry expressing the personal feeling or reflection of a single speaker, as distinct from narrative poetry's telling of a story or dramatic poetry's staged dialogue. Its name derives from the ancient Greek practice of singing such poems to the lyre, and short fixed forms are especially associated with it across traditions, the sonnet in the European tradition and the haiku in the Japanese. Because it centers a speaking voice rather than a plot, lyric poetry is the genre most closely tied to particular formal structures, meter, rhyme and line, that a reader is expected to recognize as much as any subject matter.

Facts
Place of Origin
Ancient Greece 1
Notable Example
Sappho's surviving fragments 1
Defining Trait
A formal type of poetry that expresses personal emotion or feeling, typically spoken in a first-person voice. 1
Connections

Associated With

Cavalier Poets, Movements
Renga, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Limerick, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics

Encompasses Form

Alba, Genres
Canso, Genres
Choka, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Ci (Chinese Lyric Meter), Forms
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Concrete Poetry, Forms

A visual/typographic form within the broader lyric tradition.

Source Concrete Poetry (Wikipedia)
Dansa, Genres
Descort, Genres
Devinalh, Genres
Dirge, Genres
Dramatic Monologue, Genres
Elogium, Genres
Ensenhamen, Genres
Enuig, Genres
Eulogy, Genres
Free Verse, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Gab, Genres
Gasa, Forms
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Hyangga, Forms
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Kinnot, Genres
Lament, Genres
Maldit-comiat, Genres
Nonsense Verse, Genres
Nursery Rhyme, Genres
Panegyric, Genres
Partimen, Genres
Pastorela, Genres
Planh, Genres
Prose Poetry, Forms

A prose-format realization of the lyric tradition's devices, without verse lineation.

Source Prose Poetry (Wikipedia)
Qit'a, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Salut d'amor, Genres
Sedoka, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Serena, Genres
Shi (Chinese Classical Poetry), Forms
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sijo, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Sirventes, Genres
Skaldic Verse, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Tenso, Genres
The Ballad, Forms

Anthologized as a lyric form (a sung narrative) since Lyrical Ballads itself named the poems lyrical; Princeton Encyclopedia treats the ballad among the lyric-adjacent folk forms rather than under long narrative epic.

Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Ballade, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Canzone, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Chant Royal, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Corrido, Forms
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Curtal Sonnet, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Cut-up, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Decima, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Doha, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Elegy, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Englyn, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Epigram, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Erasure Poem, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Found Poem, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Ghazal, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Haiku, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Kyrielle, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Lai, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Marsiya, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Muwashshah, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Ode, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Pantoum, Forms
Source Pantoum (Wikipedia)
The Petrarchan Sonnet, Forms
The Praise Poem, Forms
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Qasida, Forms
Source Qasida (Wikipedia)
The Rondeau, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Rubaiyat, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Sestina, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Shakespearean Sonnet, Forms
The Sonnet, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Spenserian Sonnet, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Subhashita, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Tanaga, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Tanka, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Triolet, Forms
The Villancico, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Villanelle, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Virelai, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Zajal, Forms
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Torneyamen, Genres
Viadera, Genres
Waiata, Forms
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

Features Author

Ariel, Works
Source Ariel (poetry collection) (Wikipedia)
Because I Could Not Stop for Death, Works
Source Because I Could Not Stop for Death (Wikipedia)
Buch der Lieder, Works
Source Buch der Lieder (Wikipedia)
Canzoniere, Works
Source Wikipedia: Il Canzoniere
Catullus, Authors
Duino Elegies, Works
Source Duino Elegies (Wikipedia)
Enheduanna, Authors
Gabriela Mistral, Authors
Gedichte, Works
Giacomo Leopardi, Authors
Gitanjali, Works
Source Gitanjali (Wikipedia)
Hafez, Authors
Holy Sonnets, Works
Source Holy Sonnets (Wikipedia)
Howl, Works
Source Howl (poem) (Wikipedia)
Hwang Jini, Authors
Kazi Nazrul Islam, Authors
Kubla Khan, Works
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Leaves of Grass, Works
Source Leaves of Grass (Wikipedia)
Les Fleurs du mal, Works
Source Les Fleurs du mal (Wikipedia)
Lyrical Ballads, Works
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Mirza Ghalib, Authors
Nezahualcoyotl, Authors
Notebook of a Return to My Native Land, Works
Source Notebook of a Return to the Native Land (Wikipedia)
Petrarch, Authors

Canzoniere already in-genre Lyric Poetry; Petrarch himself carried no in-genre edge to it.

Source Wikipedia: Petrarch
Pigments, Works
Source Leon Damas (Wikipedia)
Pindar, Authors
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Works
Source Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Wikipedia)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Authors
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Sappho, Authors
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Works

A narrative ballad rather than a pure lyric, but anthologized under lyric poetry with the rest of Lyrical Ballads; see the Ballad form entry for the distinction.

Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
The Weary Blues, Works
Source The Weary Blues (Wikipedia)
They Flee from Me, Works
Source They Flee from Me (Wikipedia)
Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, Works
Source Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (Wikipedia)
William Wordsworth, Authors
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics

Form Of Genre

Poetry, Genres
Sources
1. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Princeton University Press
  • s.v. Lyric
    a formal type of poetry that expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in a first-person narrative
  • Lyric entry
  • Encompasses Form: The Sonnet
  • Encompasses Form: The Haiku
  • Encompasses Form: The Ode, s.v. Ode
  • Encompasses Form: The Elegy, s.v. Elegy
  • Encompasses Form: The Epigram, s.v. Epigram
  • Encompasses Form: The Sestina, s.v. Sestina
  • Encompasses Form: The Villanelle, s.v. Villanelle
  • Encompasses Form: The Ghazal, s.v. Ghazal
  • Encompasses Form: The Tanka, s.v. Tanka
  • Encompasses Form: Free Verse, s.v. Free Verse
  • Encompasses Form: The Ballad
  • Features Author: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
  • Features Author: Kubla Khan
  • Features Author: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  • Features Author: William Wordsworth
  • Associated With: The Limerick, Fourth Edition, s.v. Limerick
  • Encompasses Form: The Rondeau, Fourth Edition, s.v. Rondeau
  • Associated With: Renga, Fourth Edition, s.v. Renga
  • Encompasses Form: Sijo, Fourth Edition, s.v. Sijo
  • Encompasses Form: The Rubaiyat, Fourth Edition, s.v. Ruba'i
  • Encompasses Form: The Spenserian Sonnet
  • Encompasses Form: The Curtal Sonnet
  • Encompasses Form: The Ballade
  • Encompasses Form: The Virelai
  • Encompasses Form: The Chant Royal
  • Encompasses Form: The Kyrielle
  • Encompasses Form: The Lai
  • Encompasses Form: The Villancico
  • Encompasses Form: The Decima
  • Encompasses Form: The Canzone
  • Encompasses Form: Choka
  • Encompasses Form: Sedoka
  • Encompasses Form: Qit'a
  • Encompasses Form: The Muwashshah
  • Encompasses Form: The Zajal
  • Encompasses Form: The Marsiya
  • Encompasses Form: Skaldic Verse
  • Encompasses Form: The Doha
  • Encompasses Form: The Subhashita
  • Encompasses Form: The Englyn
  • Encompasses Form: The Tanaga
  • Encompasses Form: The Found Poem
  • Encompasses Form: The Erasure Poem
  • Encompasses Form: The Cut-up
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
  • Features Author: Lyrical Ballads
  • Encompasses Form: Shi (Chinese Classical Poetry)
  • Encompasses Form: Ci (Chinese Lyric Meter)
  • Encompasses Form: Hyangga
  • Encompasses Form: Gasa
  • Encompasses Form: The Corrido
  • Encompasses Form: The Praise Poem
  • Encompasses Form: Waiata
View the Source
Qasida (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Encompasses Form: The Qasida, s.v. Qasida, StructureView the Source
Ariel (poetry collection) (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Features Author: Ariel, Lead, opening
Quote, Features Author: Ariel, Lead, opening
It was first released in 1965, two years after her death by suicide.
View the Source
Pantoum (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Encompasses Form: The PantoumView the Source
Concrete Poetry (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationEncompasses Form: Concrete Poetry
Quote, Encompasses Form: Concrete Poetry
Concrete poetry is an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance.
View the Source
Prose Poetry (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationEncompasses Form: Prose Poetry
Quote, Encompasses Form: Prose Poetry
Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form while otherwise deferring to poetic devices to make meaning.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Il Canzoniere
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Canzoniere, Lead section
Quote, Features Author: Canzoniere, Lead section
Of its 366 poems, the vast majority are in sonnet form (317)
View the Source
Wikipedia: Petrarch
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Features Author: Petrarch, Introductory section, model for lyrical poetry
Quote, Features Author: Petrarch, Introductory section, model for lyrical poetry
Petrarch's sonnets were admired and imitated throughout Europe during the Renaissance and became a model for lyrical poetry.
View the Source
Gitanjali (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Gitanjali, Lead section, genre
Quote, Features Author: Gitanjali, Lead section, genre
is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore
View the Source
Because I Could Not Stop for Death (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Because I Could Not Stop for Death, Lead section, genre
Quote, Features Author: Because I Could Not Stop for Death, Lead section, genre
is a lyrical poem by Emily Dickinson
View the Source
Duino Elegies (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Duino Elegies, Infobox, Genre field
Quote, Features Author: Duino Elegies, Infobox, Genre field
Elegy
View the Source
Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, Lead section, genre
Quote, Features Author: Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, Lead section, genre
poetry collection by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda
View the Source
Buch der Lieder (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Buch der Lieder, Content section, thematic focus
Quote, Features Author: Buch der Lieder, Content section, thematic focus
142 of the 237 poems deal with unrequited love
View the Source
Holy Sonnets (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Holy Sonnets, Lead section, form
Quote, Features Author: Holy Sonnets, Lead section, form
written predominantly in the style and form prescribed by Renaissance Italian poet Petrarch
View the Source
Howl (poem) (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Howl, Infobox, Genre field
Quote, Features Author: Howl, Infobox, Genre field
Beat poetry, LGBTQ poetry
View the Source
Leaves of Grass (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Leaves of Grass, Infobox, Genre field
Quote, Features Author: Leaves of Grass, Infobox, Genre field
Poetry
View the Source
Les Fleurs du mal (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Les Fleurs du mal, Infobox, Genre field
Quote, Features Author: Les Fleurs du mal, Infobox, Genre field
Lyric poetry
View the Source
Notebook of a Return to the Native Land (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Notebook of a Return to My Native Land, Lead section, genre
Quote, Features Author: Notebook of a Return to My Native Land, Lead section, genre
a book-length poem
View the Source
Leon Damas (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Pigments, Biography section, genre
Quote, Features Author: Pigments, Biography section, genre
In 1937, Damas published his first volume of poetry, Pigments.
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Infobox, Genre field
Quote, Features Author: Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Infobox, Genre field
Poetry
View the Source
The Weary Blues (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: The Weary Blues, Infobox, Genre field
Quote, Features Author: The Weary Blues, Infobox, Genre field
African-American poetry, Jazz poetry
View the Source
They Flee from Me (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: They Flee from Me, Infobox, Genre field
Quote, Features Author: They Flee from Me, Infobox, Genre field
Poem by Thomas Wyatt
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.