Definition of Lyric Poetry

Poetry consists of a poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. The term lyric is now commonly referred to as the words to a song. Lyric poetry does not tell a story which portrays characters and actions. The lyric poet addresses the reader directly, portraying his or her own feeling, state of mind, and perceptions. “Italian Sonnet” by James DeFord, written in 1997: Turn back the heart you’ve turned away Give back your kissing breath Leave not my love as you have left The broken hearts of yesterday But wait, be still, don’t lose this way Affection now, for what you guess May be something more, could be less Accept my love, live for today. Written by William Shakespeare: Shall I compare thee to a ? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed. Poem by Emily Dickinson named “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain. ” It describes a person who is going insane, or thinks they are: I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, And Mourners to and fro Kept treading – treading – till it seemed That Sense was breaking through – And when they all were seated, A Service, like a Drum -Kept beating – beating – till I thought My Mind was going numb – And then I heard them lift a Box And creak across my Soul With those same Boots of Lead, again, Then Space – began to toll, As all the Heavens was a Bell, And Being, but an Ear, And I, and Silence, some strange Race Wrecked, solitary, here – And then a Plank in Reason, broke, And I dropped down, and down – And hit a World, at every plunge, And Finished knowing .

Nonsense Poetry

Nonsense poetry is a form of poetry that many people are familiar with, even if they didn’t know they were reading nonsense poetry. The many limericks (both family friendly, and otherwise) that people have read and heard over the years are a form of nonsense poetry.

The works of Edward Lear are some of the finest examples of the form. So are the many classic nursery rhymes that we read to our children. Sometimes the language doesn’t make obvious sense and other times the stories being told seem impossible or illogical. Either case can be a technique for writing nonsense poetry. Many of the works of Lewis Carroll are classics of the form. Ronald Dahl is another writer who has entertained us with his strange tales. Words such as silly, strange, bizarre, illogical, whimsical, and fantastic are often used to describe nonsense poems.