Lyric Poetry, Diction of

The term ‘lyric poetry’ is generally used by modern scholars to describe Greek solo compositions characterized by a degree of self-awareness and personal intimacy. In the ancient terminology, however, ‘lyric’ also includes other types of poetry (such as choral odes). In standard handbooks, Greek lyric largely coincides with the works of four poets from three different regions of Greece: Sappho and Alcaeus (from Aeol. Lesbos), Anacreon (from Ion. Teos), and Corinna (from Boeot. Tanagra). Unlike other Greek poetic genres, lyric poetry does not employ a codified literary language: poets use a literary version of the dialect spoken in their regions of provenance.