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Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.[1] The term for both modern lyric poetry and modern song lyrics derives from a form of Ancient Greek literature, the Greek lyric, which was defined by its musical accompaniment, usually on an instrument known as a kithara, a seven-stringed lyre (hence "lyric"). These three are not equivalent, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode and Ancient Greek lyric poetry was principally chanted verse.[a][2]
The term owes its importance in literary theory to the division developed by Aristotle among three broad categories of poetry: lyrical, dramatic, and epic. Lyric poetry is one of the earliest forms of literature.
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