Lyricism

Lyricism personfied. Maya Angelou

I find in my poetry and prose the rhythms and imagery of the best - I mean, when I'm at my best - of the good Southern black preachers. The lyricism of the spirituals and the directness of gospel songs and the mystery of blues are in my music or in my poetry and prose, or I missed everything.^[1] - Maya Angelou

Lyricism is a quality that expresses deep feelings or emotions in an inspired work of art.^[2]

Description

Lyricism is when art is expressed in a beautiful or imaginative way, or when it has an expressive quality.^[3] Although the term lyricism is often used in conjunction with art composed of sound alone, it can also apply to all forms of art including performance,^[4] architecture,^[5] or film.^[6]

Uses of lyricism

The Starry Night

Although it is impossible to define beauty, emotion, or imagination in a definitive manner, it is possible to draw upon examples of works that may share those characteristics in both subtle and dramatic ways. The following are some classic examples of lyricism:

• Poetry. Maya Angelou's poetry has intrinsic lyricism.^[7]

• Music. In Jazz, Charlie Parker is renowned for his lyricism.^[8] In Classical music, nearly all of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's work has been revered at one time or another for its lyricism.^[9][10][11]
• Dance. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, or The Sleeping Beauty exhibit classic lyricism.
• 

  Nasir ol Molk Mosque
  Film. Lost, Lost, Lost (1976) has been described as an example of the mid-20th century lyricism movement in film, as well as The Art of Vision (1965) and Fireworks (1947).^[12]

• Architecture. The Nasir ol-Molk Mosque may be seen as an example, as well as the Taj Mahal, or the Sistine Chapel. Modern examples would be some of the later works of Le Corbusier.^[5]
• Painting. The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh can be considered the sine qua non of lyricism in the world of art.

See also

• Art
• Beauty
• Emotion
• Imagination
• Western canon

References

1. Gross, Terry (September 1986). "NPR". Fresh Air. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
2. "lyricism". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
3. "lyricism". Oxford US English Language Dictionary. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
4. DeFrantz, Thomas F. (2006). Dancing Revelations: Alvin Ailey's Embodiment of African American Culture. Oxford University Press. p. 130.
5. Cohen, Jean-Louis (2004). Le Corbusier, 1887-1965: The Lyricism of Architecture in the Machine Age. Taschen.
6. Dillon, Steven (2004). Derek Jarman and Lyric Film: The Mirror and the Sea. University of Texas Press. p. 12.
7. Braxton, Joanne M. (1999). Maya Angelou's I Know why the Caged Bird Sings: A Casebook. Oxford University Press. p. 19.
8. Woideck, Carl (1998). The Charlie Parker Companion: Six Decades of Commentary. Schirmer Books. p. 214.
9. Todd, R. Larry (2006). Perspectives on Mozart Performance. Cambridge University Press. p. 115.
10. Wallace, Robert K. (2009). Jane Austen and Mozart: Classical Equilibrium in Fiction and Music. University of Georgia Press. p. 151.
11. Georg Knepler,, J. Bradford Robinson (1997). Wolfgang Amadé Mozart. Cambridge University Press. p. 181.
12. Timothy Corrigan, Patricia White (2012). The Film Experience: An Introduction. Macmillan. p. 306.