Home › Glossary › Letter C

Commemorative lyric

Genre
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A short poem expressing remembrance or tribute to a person, event, or idea

Detailed Definition
A commemorative lyric is a formal poem that honors a person, event, or ideal through dignified tone, elevated diction, and structured stanzas; unlike elegies focused on personal grief, it emphasizes celebration, legacy, or collective memory—often used for public monuments, anniversaries, or national remembrance—and draws on classical and ceremonial traditions to convey reverence without excessive intimacy.
Example
Example in poetry:
Commemorative lyric honors a person or event, as in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address rendered poetically by Walt Whitman in “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”; W.H. Auden’s “In Memory of W.B. Yeats” is a commemorative lyric: “Earth, receive an honoured guest”; Seamus Heaney’s “Requiem for the Croppies” commemorates Irish rebels: “The hillside blushed, soaked in our broken wave”; Another example: “We remember you in the rustle of wheat / and the silence after thunder”
Additional Notes
Commemorative lyric honors a person, event, or ideal with dignified tone and formal structure; differs from elegy by focusing on celebration rather than mourning, often employing elevated diction and ceremonial rhythm.
Also Known As
Memorial verse Tribute poem Honorific ode Commemorative Ode commemorative verse homage poem commemorative poem
Skip to main content