Different poems use different voices. Finding the right one for your poem is an important step in writing.
A lyrical voice is used to tell about the feelings or emotions of the poet in relation to some object or experience. We can identify the lyrical voice by personal pronouns--I, me, my, we, our, us, mine. ours. Personal experience is in the foreground here. Originally, this type of poem was accompanied by music from a lyre, hence the word "lyrical."
This sort of poem has been around a long time and is often easy to identify with. We can picture what the poet saw; we can feel the same feelings. It is a humanizing kind of poem, reminding us that we are all in this world together as humans, with similar feelings, desires, worries, and hopes.
Another voice is the dramatic mask, where the poet speaks as if he or she is an inanimate or non-human object.
A third voice, the narrative voice, is used to simply tell about something else, without reference to the poet.
Of course, the use of each of these voice is undergirded by the poet's particular way of speaking, the poet's own voice. These voices, working together, give an individual, fresh quality to the poet's work.
Have you explored the various characteristics of lyrical, dramatic, and narrative poetry? Have you matched what you're saying to the voice best suited to say it?
Have you found your own voice?
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