Poetry Foundation - Lyric Poetry
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Poetry Foundation glossary entry defining lyric poetry and its key features, with links to example poems in the foundation's archive. Readers gain a working definition of the lyric mode and can distinguish it from narrative and dramatic poetry when reading and analysing poems.
More resources on Lyric Poetry
Poetry Off the Shelf
Producer Helena de Groot talks to poets about language, dreams, love and loss, identity, connection, anger, discomfort, the creative process, the state of the world and the world of the soul. Hard conversations are welcomed—laughter is, too.
Modern & Contemporary American Poetry
ModPo is a FREE (no fee, no charge) fast-paced introduction to modern and contemporary U.S. poetry, with an emphasis on experimental verse, from Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman to the present. Participants (who need no prior experience with poetry) will learn how to read poems that are supposedly "difficult." We encounter and discuss the poems one at a time. It's much easier than it seems! Join us and try it! ModPo is open all year, so you can enroll now, or any time, and join us. Each year we host a lively, interactive 10-week session, in which we move together through the ten-week syllabus. The next live 10-week session of ModPo will begin on August 31, 2025, and will conclude on November 10, 2025. Al Filreis will be in touch with you by email before the September 1 start of the course with all the information you'll need to participate. If you have questions, you can email the ModPo team any time at modpo@writing.upenn.edu. Much more information about ModPo can be found at modpo.org. During the 10 weeks of the course, you will be guided through poems, video discussions of each poem, and community discussions of each poem. And (unique among open online courses) we offer weekly, interactive live webcasts. Our famed TAs also offer office hours throughout the week. We help arrange meet-ups and in-site study groups. If you are curious about the ModPo team, type "ModPo YouTube introduction" into Google or your favorite search engine, and watch the 20-minute introductory video. You will get an overview of the course and will meet the brilliant TAs, who will be encountering the poems with you all the way to the end. If you use Facebook, join the always-thriving ModPo group: from inside Facebook, search for "Modern & Contemporary American Poetry" and then request to be added as a member. If you have any questions about ModPo, you can post a question to the FB group and you'll receive an almost instant reply. Much more information about ModPo can be found at modpo.org . ModPo is hosted by—and is housed at—the Kelly Writers House at 3805 Locust Walk on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia USA. All ModPo'ers are welcome to visit the Writers House when they are in our area. Our discussions are filmed there. Our live webcasts take place in the famed "Arts Cafe" of the House. To find out what's going on at the Writers House any time, just dial 215-746-POEM.
poets.org
Poets.org is the official site of the Academy of American Poets. It features a large collection of poems and poet bios, plus audio readings, essays, and classroom resources for readers and educators.
Academy of American Poets - Lyric
Glossary entry from the Academy of American Poets defining lyric poetry, tracing its origins in Greek verse sung to the lyre, and explaining forms such as the sonnet and ode. Readers can identify lyric poems and recognise their characteristic speaker and emotional focus.
The Lyric Poem: Formations and Transformations
Cambridge University Press collection of eleven essays by period specialists tracing lyric poetry in English from the early modern period to the present. Readers learn how the concept of lyric has been defined historically and gain a framework for discussing genre across centuries.
poetrysociety.org
PoetrySociety.org is a hub for poets and readers, offering craft-focused articles, teaching resources, and information on events, competitions, and publications. It covers a range of poetry forms and techniques, including guidance on free verse.