Week 14 Instructions
Lyric Poetry
In this last week of reading, we will look at lyric poetry – a break from epic and prose narratives. We will draw from a wide range of periods and cultural traditions, with an eye toward defining the shared and distinctive elements of lyric in languages and times.
Browse the following sections to chose a few poems to discuss in your response:
- Egyptian Love Poems, starting on page 70, Volume A
- Sappho, starting on page 613, Volume A
- Catullus, starting on page 902, Volume A
- Classic of Poetry, starting on page 1314, Volume A
- Medieval Lyrics, starting on page 311, Volume B
- Classical Tamil Lyric, starting on page 969, Volume B
- Classical Sanskrit Lyric, starting on page 1057, Volume B
- Hanshan (Cold Mountain), starting on page 1104, Volume B
- Tang Poetry, starting on page 1109, Volume B
- The Man’yoshu, starting on page 1170, Volume B
- The Kokinshu, starting on page 1192, Volume B
- Indian Poetry after Islam, starting on page 77, Volume C
- Petrarch and the Love Lyric, starting on page 151, Volume C
- Find two or three poems among the selections above that allow you to define the chief elements of lyric poetry: imagery, figures of speech, modes of address, approaches to love, strife, nature, or other recurring themes, or lyric structure (repetitions, oppositions, etc).
- Browse one or more critical works on any of the works, or bodies of work listed above, in the library databases. Quote one passage from the critical work, and in a few sentences tell us why it is helpful in appreciating the primary work.
REMEMBER to write the minimum required length of 1 page, not including any quotations you use from the primary works or from secondary, critical sources. Also, REMEMBER not to plagiarize, and CITE any sources you happen to use.
