What is Lyrics (for graduation students

 Question :- What is lyric ?

Answer :- Introduction : Origin and Definition :- The word lyric is derived from the Greek word "lyre", an instrument used by the Greeks to play while reciting poetry. Lyrical poets express specific moods and feelings through words. Such moods express a variety of feelings about life, love, death, or other life experiences, from extreme to vague.

 A Lyric is a collection of verses and chorus, making up a complete lyric, or a short and non-fiction poem. A lyric uses a single speaker, which expresses individual feelings or thoughts. Lyrical poems, often popular for their musical quality and rhythm, are pleasing to the ear, and are easily put to music. The lyric may be defined as a short musical poem which express the thought and emotions of the single speaker.

Main features of the lyric :- A good lyric is marked by several distinctive features which are given below :

(i) It deals with a single emotion which is usually expressed in the first few lines. In the rest of the lines, the poet gives us thoughts inspired by that particular sentiment.

(ii) It is emotional in tone. A good lyric gives expression to a deeply felt emotion. In other words, it originates from the heart of the poet and travels to the heart of the reader

(iii) Sonnet, elegy and Ode are among the different forms of lyric as they all relate to a personal and emotional accent.

(iv) It is a short poem, characterized by simplicity of language and ease of expression.

Type of Lyric :- Many types of lyrics are used in poems such as given below:

Elegy :- An elegy is a mournful, sad, or sad poem or a song expressing grief for someone who has lost a be, or has died. Originally, it followed a structure using one meter of alternating six-foot and five-foot lines. However, modern elegy do not follow such a pattern, although the mood of the poem remains the same.

 Ode :- An ode is a lyric poem that expresses intense feelings, such as love, respect, or admiration for someone or something. Like an elegy, an ode does not follow any strict format or structure, although it does use abstinence or repeated lines. It is usually longer than other lyrical forms, and focuses on the positive mood of life.

Sonnet :- A sonnet uses fourteen lines, and follows iambic pentameter with five pairs of accented and un-accented syllables. The structure of a sonnet, with predetermined syllables and rhyme scheme, makes it flow through readers’ tongues similar to a song on the radio.

Dramatic Monologue :- A dramatic monologue has a theatrical quality, meaning that the poem portrays a lone speaker communicating with the audience, without any dialogue coming from the other characters. Typically, the speaker speaks to a specific person in the poem.

Contemporary poetry :- Poets occasionally write poetry for specific occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, victories, and dedications, such as John Dryden’s “Annus mirabilis,” and Edmund Spencer’s “Epithalmion.”

Examples of Lyric in Literature :- O Captain! My Captain (by Walt Whitman)

“‘O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,

The ship has weather’d every rack,

the prize we sought is won,

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;

But O heart! heart! heart!”

This is the first stanza of Whitman’s famous elegy. Note its mood, which is gloomy, and full of intense sadness. Yet the words are giving a melodious flow due to the lyrical quality.