Lyric Poetry

Originally, a lyric poem was one sung to the accompaniment of a lyre, a small stringed instrument resembling a harp. In time, a lyric poem became such a poem that might be so accompanied even if it actually was not. Lyric poetry is characterized by the poet's giving intimate expression to his innermost thoughts and feelings, in a way that he could not simply by, say, telling a story. Herbert's “Virtue” reflects his inner delight at the loveliness of nature as well as his meditation in response to nature. Rather than telling a story, “Virtue” reveals an internal mood. In part because of the value given to human perception by the Renaissance, lyric poetry flourished during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries in England.

Metaphysical Poetry

Metaphysical poetry is the name given to the poetry written by a loose collection of seventeenth-century poets, including John...