JJ Torres

Learning the Trade:

A Synthesis on Lyric Poetry

“Lyric poetry” is the sub-genre of poetry that one usually thinks of when one thinks of poetry. Other genres of poetry include the dramatic poem, the narrative poem, and the epic poem. Although these genres of poems have similar qualities, the lyric poem is usually short in comparison to the other poetic genres. Two definitions of lyric state that a lyric is “[an] express[ion] [of] feeling and thoughts of a single speaker… in a personal and subjective fashion,” and “a brief subjective poem strongly marked by imagination, melody, and emotion, and creating for the reader a single, unified impression” (Lyric Poem). However a clear definition of lyric poetry is not the only material I learned about lyric poetry in Creative Writing. This essay will synthesize what I have learned about lyric poetry, what I had already known about lyric poetry, and my experience with lyric poetry.

One topic I had learned about lyric poetry is the many types of lyric poems. Sonnets, songs, and (to my surprise) free-verse are some types of lyric poetry (Lyric Poem). Finding out that free-verse poetry is lyric poetry surprised me, because I always believed that free-verse would be considered a narrative poem. I had bias in believing that lyric poetry had to have a certain poetic structure, rhyme scheme, and metered verse (preferable iambic-pentameter) for the poem to qualify as a lyric poem. One of the topics I really enjoyed learning was the material found in chapter 7 of Three Genres entitled ”From Lines to Stanzas.” It interested me the many different types of rhyming poems that were categorized in the reading. There were familiar ones, like the English sonnet, and rhyming poems I have never heard of such as the pantoum. But the rhyming poetic form that interested me the most was the villanelle because of its use of refrain (Minot 94-104). The sound of a continuing refrain makes me think of an ancient song that an elder woman sings to her tribal ken of an ancient battle, and the name of a warrior is repeated often so that his name will not be forgotten. The structure of a villanelle poem makes brings to mind the structure of the epic Gilgamesh, but this particular epic is not a lyric poem. Besides learning formally about lyric poetry, I also learned how important revisions are to poetry composition from the workshops. Through the workshops I was able to see the ways revising a poem can occur through having insightful input from peers. It is weird because I always had in mind that poetry should never be revised because it is a flow of emotion when written, and a poet would not want her “creative genius” to be stifled. But none-the-less I realized that revising a poem is just as important as creating the draft, because a poet can begin to layer the complexity of the poem and capture a more nostalgic moment. Kind of like when a painter starts out by outlining the paining on canvas with chalk or pencil. Although she has a clear image on the canvas, her art does not really come to life until she adds the many layers of paint that will bring about the art’s full expression.

Though I have learned much about lyric poetry and poetry composition, I have had previous learned much about lyric poetry. The knowledge I have about poetry is the use of imagery through the use of language. In community college I had taken a creative writing class that emphasized the use of imagery in both prose and poetry. I was taught how to capture all five senses in a text through the use of imagery. My professor tended to have lessons dealing with creating images more often than any other lesson; he often stated that he “wanted to feel as if he was in” the piece. I have also learned how to use figures of speech, metaphors, simile, alliteration, consonance, and rhyme schemes in order to vamp up the quality of the poem.

Besides already having a bit of knowledge of lyric poetry, I have had experience with poetry in my personal life. During high school my best friend was an art fanatic, and she was always writing poetry and taking photographs. She constantly barraged me with “read this poem” or “look at this photo.” Most of her poetry was full of romance, and she played around with free-verse and rhymed poetry. Although she has focused more on her photography as we have grown up, she still shares with me all those tattered-notebooks full of old poetry while I share my new poetry with her; it is funny how the roles have reversed. Even though I have only been writing poetry for about four years now, I have written many lyrics for the musical compositions I have composed. I have played music for as long as I can remember, and I have embraced the soul of that old delta-blues. From the piedmont to Chicago style, I embrace that old sound as if it were my own musical genius. Naturally blues has a certain structure that is a quatrain lyric poem containing an abcb rhyme scheme. Blues has a rhythm to it that syncopates the guitar playing, and I have used that same rhythm in my own lyrics.

My learning of lyric poetry has allowed me to expand on my own poetic techniques, and I have found a deeper appreciation for the revision of poetry. I originally thought that a poem is simply an expression of thought or emotion and not the difficult task it has become. However difficult the drafting and revision are, I really get a better feel for creating poetry now that I have more experience with revising my poetry.

Works Cited

Minot, Stephen. Three Genres: Writing Fiction/Literary Nonfiction, Poetry, and Drama.

8^th ed. Prentice Hall (2006).

White, Craig. “Lyric Poem: a.k.a. ‘Song’ or ‘Poem.’” LITR 3731 Creative Writing.

University of Houston Clearlake. Web. 01 Oct. 2009.

<http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/terms/lyric.htm>