world literature

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

1. 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).
2. 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.