Lyric Poetry: Exploring the World of Emotions Through Verse
Lyric Poetry
Lyric poetry has traditionally been defined as the expression of feelings through words, written or oral. It is characterized by subjectivity, meaning the poet shares their thoughts and inner vision of reality.
This expression of feelings is often presented with technical and aesthetic refinement. Therefore, perhaps the most recognizable formal characteristic of poetry is that of being written in verse. Thus, a poem is the union of an emotional and sentimental background with certain formal features that are recognizable even to those unfamiliar with poetry.
The poet’s expression of emotion can also be carried out through other means, such as poetic prose. In this style of writing, the author dispenses with verse while maintaining all the characteristic features of poetry: subjectivity, emotional expression, and the use of numerous literary devices and formal and aesthetic care. Poetic prose or prose poems are found in the works of Juan Ramón Jiménez (http://personal.telefonica.terra.es/web/apuntesasr/JoseCarlosCarrillo/LitJCCLaLirica19011950.htm), who is considered one of its best cultivators. We can also include authors such as Rubén Darío (http://personal.telefonica.terra.es/web/apuntesasr/JoseCarlosCarrillo/LitJCCLaLirica19011950.htm), Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Federico García Lorca (http://personal.telefonica.terra.es/web/apuntesasr/JoseCarlosCarrillo/LitJCCCarGen27.htm), and more recently, Antonio Gala and Antonio Muñoz Molina (http://personal.telefonica.terra.es/web/apuntesasr/JoseCarlosCarrillo/LitJCCLaLirica19512000.htm or http://personal.telefonica.terra.es/web/apuntesasr/JoseCarlosCarrillo/LitJCCLaNarrativa19512000.htm).
Features of Lyric Poetry
- The author conveys a particular mood. Lyric poetry is often characterized by introspection and the expression of feelings.
- Lyric poetry requires an effort of interpretation from the reader, who must be at least somewhat accustomed to this form of literary expression.
- It usually features a large accumulation of images and symbolic elements.
- Most lyric poems are characterized by their brevity.
- Lyric poetry, being basically subjective and often expressed in the first person, can resemble an autobiographical account, but we must not confuse the “I” with the author behind the poem.
- Poems tend to conform to formal rules that characterize them: verses, stanzas, rhythm, rhyme—all encompassed under the name of metrics. Furthermore, to achieve the most beautiful language possible, authors use literary or stylistic devices.
Poetry was born intimately linked to music, hence the term “song” was applied to compositions in verse sung by poets. This is because the first poems were transmitted accompanied by a musical instrument, often a lyre (hence the term “lyric”). Thus, the intonation when reading a poem is reminiscent of the melodies that once served as background music to recitation.
The Metric
The metric is the discipline of literature that deals with the length of verses, their structure, their classes, and the different combinations that can be formed with them. It aims to establish the rules of verse: poetry, rhyme, rhythm, and stanzas.
Verse
Verse refers to a set of words subject to rhythm and cadence in relation to other lines. It is usually characterized by a pause, accent, and rhyme, although these features are not universal. From a practical point of view, each of the lines that form a poem can be called a verse.
Verses are classified by the number of syllables they contain. Verses consisting of eight or fewer syllables are called “minor art” verses, while those composed of nine or more syllables are “major art” verses. Verses that have no rhyme or uniform syllable count are called free verse. This type of diversification is very common in contemporary poetry because it is based on creative freedom and a close connection to the poem’s content.
The Rhythm
Rhythm, both a musical and poetic phenomenon, is a regularly repeated unit that produces an effect. In Spanish, poetic rhythm is due to the following factors:
- The meter: Repetition of the number of syllables in the verses that make up a poem.
- Accents: Expiratory force is distributed over the same syllables in each verse.
- Rhyme: The repetition of sounds that appear at the end of each line.
Rhyme
As mentioned above, rhyme is the repetition of sounds that close each of the verses that make up a poem. This repetition can be of two types:
- Assonance: When only vowel sounds are repeated from the last accented vowel.
- Consonance: When all sounds, both vowel and consonant, are repeated from the last accented vowel.
Stylistic or Literary Resources
By means of these rhetorical devices, the writer attempts to alert the reader to the beauty, wit, sensitivity, difficulty, and pace of the poem. The use of literary resources distinguishes poetic language from everyday language, embellishing and stylizing it. There are a number of stylistic devices.
Main Poetic Forms
Ode
Etymologically, ode means song because, in ancient Greece, it was recited to the accompaniment of a lyre. It allows the author to express any kind of lyrical emotion: joy, sadness, sorrow, pleasure, etc. We can highlight the odes of Fray Luis de León.
Elegy
It is a poem written in honor and memory of a deceased person. The verses that Jorge Manrique dedicated to his father and the “Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías” by Federico García Lorca are very famous examples.
Eclogue
A love poem in which the protagonists are located in a pastoral setting. These characters tend to lament their love through a highly stylized dialogue and a very careful vocabulary. The most famous and perhaps the highest quality are the three Eclogues by Garcilaso de la Vega.
Satire
Usually a brief, burlesque composition in which the author criticizes both individual and social vices. In fact, a satire is a sort of mockery in verse. Perhaps one of the greatest satirists of Spanish literature has been Francisco de Quevedo, as seen in the titles of some of his satirical poems: “A man of great nose”, etc.
Epithalamium
A poem that highlights the solemnity of a wedding and the love of the newlyweds. Antonio Machado dedicated an epithalamium to his friend Francisco Romero.
Epistle
This is a letter in verse in which the poet speaks to a friend. The subject matter can vary, although moral reflection often dominates. Garcilaso de la Vega is the author of the “Epistle to Boscán”.
Song
This designation is usually used to refer to any composition with a love theme.