Lyrical Poetry and the Troubadours

Superficially, Troubadour poetry seems to contrast greatly to the lyrical poetry of the ancient Greeks. Both, however, are classified as Lyrical Poetry. Though perhaps the Troubadour’s poems perhaps weren’t intended to be sung specifically to a Lyre, but the musicality of the poetry remains integral to the reader’s understanding of the poems.  It is in the attention to word pattern and poetic rhythm where one finds the similarities between troubadour poetry and that of the ancient Greeks.

            The complex poem, “Le ferm voler qu’el cor m’entra”  by Arnaut Daniel exemplifies the complex word patterns that appear throughout the Troubadour poetry. Throughout the entire poem, each line ends with the words,"enter", "nail", "soul", "rod", "uncle", or "room". Furthermore, Daniel takes great pains so that the placement of the words in one stanza is always different from that of every other stanza. For example, “nail” appears in the second line of stanza one, but in the fourth, fifth, third, sixth, and first lines of the respective stanzas. The repetition of the end words gives the poem a structure and pattern, for the reader comes to expect these words in the following lines. Furthermore, Daniels connects each stanza to its predecessor by having the end word which appeared in the final lines of the previous stanza appear as the final word in the following stanza’s first line. By placing the common ending words in the end and beginning of the stanzas, Daniels creates continuity and flow. These common words create a rhythm which propel the reader forward.  

Although Daniels creates many patterns, he also encorporates some discord into his poetry. Though the same end words appear in each stanza, he varying the lines within which the words appear. In doing so, Daniels breaks up the monotony that patterns can sometimes bring. He does this, perhaps, to engage the listener. If the poem becomes too rhythmic, the reader can too easily predict what the next stanza will say, and thus lose interest in reading the entire poem. Therefore, though the repetition of common end words lends a sort of lyrical rhythm to the poetry, the variance of line placement breaks up the monotony that a “”sing songy” poem sometimes portrays. As a result, Daniels creates a lyrical poem, which is unique from those of the Ancient Greeks.