Back in 2010 (Prompt #21), we
worked with music and poetry. Because music and poetry have been called
“fraternal twins,” I thought this week might be a good time to revisit music as
our “muse” – this time with a slightly different slant and a focus on lyric
poetry.
Music and poetry are known to have
been combined since ancient times in Greece where dramatists and
poets composed music to complement their works. The form of poetry best
associated with music is lyric poetry, defined by Britannica online as, “a verse or poem that is, or supposedly is,
susceptible of being sung to the accompaniment of a musical instrument (in ancient
times, usually a lyre) or that expresses intense personal emotion in a manner
suggestive of a song. Lyric poetry expresses the thoughts and feelings of the
poet and is sometimes contrasted with narrative poetry and verse drama, which relate
events in the form of a story. Elegies, odes, and sonnets are all important
kinds of lyric poetry.”
William Shakespeare wrote 160 songs for
use in his plays (intended for drum, flute, and lute accompaniment). Later,
lyric poetry was popularized by the romantic poets (Byron, Shelley, Keats,
Wordsworth, and others). By the 20th century, lyric poetry was
predominantly rhymed and based in emotional and personal feelings. Lyricism was
challenged by modernist poets (including Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, and William
Carlos Williams) who promoted complex thought over melodic language. After
World War II, a renaissance of interest in lyric poetry was felt – this adopted
traditional lyricism with a personal component. Later in the century, the
confessional poets (including Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton) introduced a form
of “tell-all” lyric poetry that dealt with relationships, intimacy, and both
domestic and personal life. Today contemporary poets embrace lyricism in a
range of individual styles.
Suggestions for Writing:
1. Write a poem based on the music in this YouTube musical selection Hans Zimmer – Light. Close your eyes or
view the pictures, sit back, and let the music “speak” to you. Then, listen
again, and this time jot down ideas, words, phrases, and images that occur to
you while listening. Use these to compose your poem.
2. Write a poem in which you reference
music, a particular style of music, musical instruments, specific musicians, or
the love of sound.
3. You might want to try taking a
different piece of music (not the sample above) and writing your own words to
it. Alternatively, you might write a lyric poem first and then set it to music.
In either case, choose a musical work that you especially like or are drawn to
and match your words to its rhythms. Be flexible and let the music and words
work together.
4. Song lyrics are a kind of
poetry, and ballads have long been associated with music, often being sung.
When words are added to music, a story emerges. Although ballads are considered narrative poems, they have a strong musical quality. Try writing a ballad. (Be aware of the
poem’s “music” and the ballad refrain).
6. The language of music is
understood by all cultures. Write a poem about the music of your national
heritage. How is the music of this country different from others?
Note: Whichever suggestion works for you
this week, be sure to pay particular attention to the sound quality in your
poem (alliteration, assonance, internal or external rhyme).
Poems About Music
