Definition: Choral lyric poetry refers to Greek poetry that was performed in choruses, originally to the accompaniment of a lyre.
The lyric poet wrote the poems and the music for the lyre accompaniment. A lyric poet could accompany himself on the lyre, although a choral lyric required the participation of a chorus. An elegiac poet, on the contrary, could not accompany himself because he couldn't sing and play pipes at the same time.
Archaic choral lyric poetry was performed by choruses of both sexes at public religious festivals or major family functions. The span of archaic choral lyric poetry runs from the poet Alcman in the 7th century B.C. to Timotheos at the beginning of the 4th.
Subgenres of choral lyric poetry were:
- The marriage song (hymenaios),
- The dancing song,
- The lament or dirge (threnos),
- The paean of praise to a god,
- The maiden song (partheneion),
- The processional (prosodion),
- The hymn, and
- The dithyramb.
- praise for people (enkomion) and
- song at a party or symposium (skolion)
The lyric poet wrote the poems and the music for the lyre accompaniment. A lyric poet could accompany himself on the lyre, although a choral lyric required the participation of a chorus. An elegiac poet, on the contrary, could not accompany himself because he couldn't sing and play pipes at the same time.
