Home › Glossary › Letter D

Devotional 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 lyric poem expressing religious reverence, prayer, or spiritual contemplation

Detailed Definition
A devotional lyric is a poem expressing religious reverence, spiritual longing, or meditative prayer, often addressed to a deity or sacred figure; drawing from traditions like the Psalms or John Donne’s Holy Sonnets, it blends personal emotion with theological reflection in intimate, elevated language.
Example
Example in poetry:
George Herbert’s “Love (III)” is a devotional lyric addressing divine grace with humility; John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet X” (“Death, be not proud”) blends metaphysical wit with religious devotion; Emily Dickinson’s “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church” reimagines worship in personal, devotional terms; Rumi’s ghazals often function as devotional lyrics expressing mystical union with the divine.
Additional Notes
Devotional lyric expresses personal religious feeling—praise, doubt, or supplication—often addressing God directly; key examples include George Herbert, John Donne, and Rumi; differs from liturgical poetry by its intimate, subjective voice.
Also Known As
Sacred hymn Prayerful lyric Devotional ode Pious verse Church poem Prayerful verse Priestly verse Sacred lyric Ceremonial hymn
Skip to main content