Lays (Lyric)

The Lays or its proper form – Lyric – is derived from the ancient musical instrument Lyre, which was probably one of the most often used instrument in any ensemble in ancient Greece. The term probably owes its origins to Aristotle, who classified three types of poetry – lyric, dramatic and epic. It was used to describe the emotions of a lover or a hero and is most often written in the first person. The lyric dates to the ancient Greece and was later taken up by the Roman poets as well as ancient Persian poets.
The now extremely popular Ghazal took origin from the Lyric during 10th century AD. The famous Hafiz and Amir Khusroo as well as Omar Khayyam are some of the well know Persian poets who made Ghazals popular and still considered some of the best ever written. Rhyming lyrics filtered down from the Persian poets to the western poets during the middle ages and the Persian poets are considered masters in the art of lyrical poetry.

Lays of Ancient Rome was compiled by Thomas Macaualay and published in 1881.  It is a collection of four ancient heroic episodes from Greek history along with a couple of more recent ones. 

 

The other well known collection is Lays of Ancient India which is a collection for English translation of ancient Indian narrative poetry.
Lays was spelled Lai in medieval French literature and was used for romantic interludes in Octasyllabic forms. Many poems were composed based on Celtic legends in 12th century and was popularised by several French poets.
The Lyrical poetry was constructed in strict metric structure using one of meters – Iambic, Trochaic, Pyrrhic, Anapestic, Dactylic and Spondaic, depending on the number of syllables and the amount of stress on each syllable. As it can be seen, these poems were constructed to be sung and not just recited. One might say lyrical poetry was the origin of the other forms of poetry including sonnet.

 

 

 

 

One of the famous Lay – Love – was written by William Wordsworth in 18th century in Cumbria, UK.

LOVE;
All Thoughts, all Passions, all Delights,
Whatever stirs this mortal Frame,
All are but Ministers of Love,
And feed his sacred flame.

Oft in my waking dreams do I
Live o’er again that happy hour,
When midway on the Mount I lay
Beside the Ruin’d Tower.

William Wordsworth

 

The Lays during medieval period were written describing the love and passion between a knight and his lady of high born, often ending in tragedy. The structure allowed for the poets to convey emotions of love and sadness with passion.

 

 

Man often finds himself torn apart by deceit and treachery. The emotions of despair and loneliness at times when one feels the world is against him and he is alone in a world full of people. It is a difficult emotion to describe and express at best of times, particularly when he feels that the whole world is against him.

It is a man’s world

There are people hundreds and more
Yet I feel all alone in this world
Surrounded by friends, family and more
And yet so alone in my mind

I walk for miles seeking a sight
Sight of solace and peace in this realm
But all I find is treachery, fear and deceit
Deceit of mind and body of realm

Sold at will by those I trusted
With all my soul and heart
Treachery of will and power crusted
Fear of unremitting pain and hurt

It is hard in the world to give
The given stabbed me in the nether
Take everything with nothing to give
And destroy my life, love and my creature

They tell me it’s a man’s world
Who, may I ask is this man?
Who rules ruthlessly this world?
In form and fashion not a man

They tell me it’s a man’s world
Where one is right, good or bad
Where everything is sold
For a price anything can be had

I walk for miles seeking solace
I think for hours searching for peace
I can neither get peace nor solace
I walk for miles seeking solace.

Shankar Kashyap