: Re: What makes a piece "lyrical"? I've been thinking about this question for a while. This is my definition of what makes a sentence lyrical: 1. The use of metaphors: So I walked back to

@Murray831

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This is merely meant to support Paul A. Clayton's excellent answer.

What unifies the three examples you've presented is the impeccable rhythm (meter) of the prose.

As Paul Clayton notes, prose lyricism can extend to poetic techniques (sound patterns) such as alliteration, internal rhymes and near rhymes, among others.

If you're not familiar with it already, you may be interested in Eliot's Four Quartets. The bulk of the poem is written in natural, modern English, rendered poetry not by rhyme, but by the rhythmic structure. (One of the implications of this modern poem is that rhythm is the fundamental trait of poetry, over and above rhyme or even meaning.)

Similarly, lyricism in prose writing is primarily a factor of impeccable metric structure which results in perfect "flow" for the reader.

Poetic imagery may be applied for the reasons Clayton mentions.

A clue as to the use of "lyric" can be found in the etymology. The word derives from the Ancient Greek musical instrument known as the lyre. Erato is the muse of lyric poetry, although in later accounts, Euterpe was also associated with this form.

Lyric refers to the musical qualities of language

This is to say the metric and phonetic (auditory) qualities that elevate common prose to lyrical prose.

PS- With the Green quote, that has the feeling of a short poem nested in a prose narrative because of the rhyme. Typically one would avoid overt rhymes in line endings in lyrical prose to distinguish it from poetry (or even doggerel), but Green's use demonstrates how it can be skillfully utilized for effect.

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