Greek Lyric Poetry

Greek Lyric
Poetry
In Greek literature, as in all other literatures,
some forms of songs, words set to music, were
among the earliest modes of expression. As far as
we know by what survives, the highest
development of the lyric poem came later than the
development of the epic. At first people talk about
things and events external to themselves; they
recite tale of deities and heroes, that is, their poetry
is objective. As they grow more civilized, perhaps
more complicated in their emotions, they sing of
their own souls, and they become subjective. A
lyric is a cry, whether laughing or tearful, of the
individual heart.
The word lyric is derived from the
name of the musical instrument which
the Greeks borrowed from some
earlier people and on which they
strummed in accompaniment to songs
or recited verses. Most of the Greek
lyrics have disappeared from
literature, and we know them only
from fragments.
1.SAPPHO (about 600 B.C.)
One of the earliest Greek lyricists
who in the sixth century B.C. was the
acknowledged head of a school of poetry
in Lesbos. The few verses which have
survived of her poetry show her
passionate nature, her sharp sense of joy
and pain and of love. In Greece her
reputation was almost as exalted as that
of Homer, and she was called “The Tenth
Muse.”
Hymn to Venus
Immortal Venus, throned above

In radiant beauty, child of Jove,
O skilled in every art of love
And artful snare;
Dread power, to whom I bend the knee,

Release my soul and set it free
From bonds of piercing agony
And gloomy care.
Yet come thyself, if e’er benign,

Thy listening ears thou didst incline
To my rude lay, the starry shine
Of Jove’s court leaving.
In chariot yoked with coursers fair,

Thy own immortal birds that bear
Thee swift to earth, the middle air
With bright wings cleaving.
Soon they were sped---and thou, most blest,
In thine own smiles ambrosial dressed,
Didst ask what griefs my mind oppressed—
What meant my song---
What end my frenzied thoughts pursue—

For what loved youth I spread anew
My amorous nets—”Who , Sappho, who
Hath done thee wrong?
“What though he fly, he’ll soon return—

Still pressed thy gifts, though now be spurn;
Heed not his coldness—soon he’ll burn,
E’en though thou chide.”
---And saidst thou thus, dread goddess? O,

Come then once more to ease my woe;
Grant all, and thy great self bestow,
My shield and guide!
Activity 1
1.In what mood is the poem written?

2.What favor does the persona in the poem ask
Venus?
3.What answer does Venus give?
4.Why does the persona call Venus her shield
and guide?
One Girl
Like the sweet apple that reddens

upon the topmost bough.
Atop on the topmost twig—which the
pluckers forgot, somehow—
Forgot it not, nay! But got it not, for
none could get it till now.
Like the wild hyacinth flower which on

the hills is found,
Which the passing feet of the shepherds
forever tear and wound,
Until the purple blossom is trodden into
the ground.
Activity 2
1.What type of girl is shown in the first stanza?

2.What does “atop the topmost bough” suggest
about the girl?
3.Who are the “pluckers”?
4.Does the stanza mean that the girl has no
suitors?
5.What type of girl is shown in the second
stanza?
6.Who are implied in “the passing feet of
shepherds”?
7.What is the unhappy fate of the second girl?
2.ANACREON (572-488? B.C.)
Another lyric poet who wrote about

love, wine, women, and social enjoyment.
Anacreon’s poems were wittier and less
passionate than those of Sappho.
Old Age
The women tell me everyday

That all my bloom has passed away.
“Behold,” the pretty wantons cry,
‘Behold,” this mirror with a sigh;
The locks upon thy brow are few,
And like the rest, they’re withering too!”
Whether decline has thinned my hair,
I’m sure I neither know nor care;
But I know and this I feel,
As onward to the tomb I steal,
That still as death approaches nearer,
The joys of life are sweeter, dearer,
And had I but an hour to live,
That little hour to bliss I’d give.
Activity 3
1.What can you say about the persona in the

poem?
2.Tell about the philosophy of life expressed in
the last five lines.
3.Do you approve of this philosophy? Why?
The Wiser Part
I care not for the idle state

Of Persia’s king, the rich the great;
I envy not the Monarch’s throne
Nor wish the treasur’d gold my own.
But oh! Be mine the rosy wreath,
It’s freshness o’er my brow to breathe;
Be mine the rich perfumes that flow’
To cool and scent my locks of snow.
Today I’ll haste to quaff my wine,

As if tomorrow ne’er should shine;
But if tomorrow comes, why then—
I’ll haste to quaff my wine again.
And thus while all our days are bright,
Nor time has dimmed their glowing light,
Let us the festal hours beguile
With mantling cup and cordial smile;
And shed from each new bowl of wine
The richest drop on Bacchus’ shrine.
For death may come , with brow unpleasant,
May come when least we wish him present
And beckon to the sable shore
And grimly bid us—drink no more!
Activity 4
1.What does the persona feel about wealth and

power?
2.What things does he prefer to have?
3.What is meant by “rosy wreath”? “rich
perfumes”? “quaff my wine”? “cordial smile”?
4.Do you think that the speaker is an old man?
What lines tell you this?

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Greek Lyric

Immortal Venus, throned above

Dread power, to whom I bend the knee,

Yet come thyself, if e’er benign,

In chariot yoked with coursers fair,

What end my frenzied thoughts pursue—

“What though he fly, he’ll soon return—

---And saidst thou thus, dread goddess? O,

1.In what mood is the poem written?

Like the sweet apple that reddens

Like the wild hyacinth flower which on

1.What type of girl is shown in the first stanza?

Another lyric poet who wrote about

The women tell me everyday

1.What can you say about the persona in the

I care not for the idle state

Today I’ll haste to quaff my wine,

1.What does the persona feel about wealth and

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