What is Lyric Poetry?

When you hear the word "lyric" what do you immediately think of? Is it your favorite song? If so, you are in company with audiences stretching back thousands of years! The idea of lyric poetry, originally, was that it was designed to be sung and most often was meant to be accompanied by music. Greeks and Romans used an instrument like the lyre to accompany their poems - in fact, the word lyric derives from the same word as lyre. In this image of a statue found at the Cleveland Museum of Art, a reclining musician holds a lyre.

Over the next two modules, we'll be reading the poetry of two Roman lyric poets:

Quintus Horatius Flaccus (aka Horace)
Gaius Valerius Catullus

Forms of Lyric Poetry

Roman lyric poetry, as many of its other forms, derived from Greek models. The most important Greek lyric poets for the Romans were Pindar, Sappho, Alcaeus, and Anacreon. Horace was particularly inspired by the style of the last two poets, while Catullus was heavily inspired by the poetry of Sappho. Lyric poetry tends to focus on themes of love - think about how many modern pop songs are about falling in love or the pain of being rejected by a crush, etc. Additionally, lyric poetry will often focus on natural themes. In Roman times, the original intent of having a lyric poem sung and accompanied was less of a focus, while instead, the lyric poets intended to keep the form of Greek lyric poetry alive in the Roman model.

Lyric poetry tends to be written in stanzas, much like a modern song has verses. For instance, Horace tended to write in stanzas that were four lines long, so each stanza would be more or less a self-contained idea within the larger theme of the poem. There is some debate on whether or not these poems were written as literature (to be read and shared) or if they were in fact meant to be performed. Remember, lyric poetry, originally, was poetry that was meant to be set to music: there are some indications from ancient sources that Horace's Odes were performed and were not simply meant as literature.

The Ode

The poems we will read from Horace are all called Odes. An ode is a type of lyric poem that is used to praise or bring positive attention to a person or event. Many of Horace's odes were written for specific figures, such as his odes eulogizing Augustus. Additionally, Horace comments on Roman social life in the Augustan Age. Horace makes comments on love, friendship, religion, what it means to be a moral person, what it means to be a patriot, and even wine. He very much advocated that Romans should seek moderation (via media - the middle path).

Meter

Before discussing the meter of Horace's Odes, let's quickly review the names of the feet we learned earlier:

dactyl - long, short, short (– u u)
spondee - long, long (– –)
trochee - long, short (– u)
iamb - short, long (u –)

However, there are many other feet with names like choriamb (long, short, short, long) or anapest (short, short, long). The world of lyric poetry is full of much more complicated meters - none of which you will need to learn specifically, though an example is provided below to give you an idea. Horace wrote in several meters that were created by Greek poets: Alcaic, Sapphic, Asclepiadean, and so on. An example of a stanza in Alcaic meter from Horace, Odes, II.3 reads:

Aequam mementō rēbus in arduīs
servāre mentem, nōn secus in bonīs
ab insolentī temperātam
laetitiā, moritūre Dellī,

Lines one and two have eleven syllables (hendecasyllabic) each, line three has nine syllables (enneasyllabic) and line four has ten syllables (decasyllabic). The lines are as follows:

Line 1: four feet with two additional syllables, for a total of eleven syllables
Line 2: four feet with two additional syllables, for a total of eleven syllables
Line 3: four feet with one additional syllable, for a total of nine syllables
Line 4: four feet in ten syllables

**Scansion for Horace, Odes, II.3 - Line 1**
Ae	quam me	mentō	rēbus in	ardu	īs
Long syllable	trochee	spondee	dactyl	trochee	Long syllable

**Scansion for Horace, Odes, II.3 - Line 2**
ser	vāre	mentem	nōn secus	in bo	nīs
Long syllable	trochee	spondee	dactyl	trochee	Long syllable

**Scansion for Horace, Odes, II.3 - Line 3**
ab	īnso	lentī	temper	ātam
Short syllable	trochee	spondee	trochee	spondee

**Scansion for Horace, Odes, II.3 - Line 4**
laetiti	ā mori	tūre	Dellī
dactyl	dactyl	trochee	spondee

The translation of this section of the poem:

When things are troublesome, always remember,
keep an even mind, and in prosperity
be careful of too much happiness:
since, my Dellius, you're destined to die,

Video Lesson

The following video is a more general look at lyric poetry, covering its basic features and some English examples to demonstrate the form. While it is not directly about Latin poetry, it applies to the forms we are learning in Horace and Catullus.

Video Source: Vijeta Gautam (YouTube)

[CC BY-NC-SA 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION - INTENDED ONLY FOR USE WITHIN LESSON.