Lyric and Narrative Texts: Poetic Voice & Perspectives

This text is literary because it is an artistic expression through the use of language (language use). Lyric Text · Is a work that expresses emotions and feelings and creates a sense of wonder in the reader. Moreover, this is a beautiful composition that tries to produce in the reader's aesthetic pleasure. Narrative text · Creates imaginary worlds and tries to entertain the reader, besides seeking beauty and aesthetic pleasure. It is therefore important to use expressive resources, as ...

Lyric Text

This text belongs to the lyric as it presents the characteristics of that genre, such as:

• Subjectivity in discourse: the subjective, poetic expression has a predominant role.
• Does not develop a story when it expresses feelings, emotions, or ideas; it presents a poetic voice.
• The text focuses on one aspect (a single topic), is brief, and contains expressive resources.
• Often written in verse.

Narrative Text

This text is narrative because it has the following features:

• Develops a story; the referential function dominates alongside the poetic function.
• The story is told by a narrator, who belongs to the world of fiction.
• Typically written in prose.

Poetic Speaker (Issuer)

Characteristics of the poetic speaker:

• Explicit: indicated by personal pronouns or first-person verb forms (e.g., I, me).
• Implicit: the speaker is not stated directly; the presence of the poetic speaker is inferred and revealed through the address to the receiver.

Poetic Receiver

Characteristics of the poetic receiver (the addressed "you"):

• Explicit: indicated by second-person pronouns (e.g., you, your).
• The receiver can also be evoked by means of a vocative (a direct call to another person).

Example of a vocative: (You are the sun that enlightens me more)

Attitude of the Poetic Voice

Types of attitude based on grammatical person:

• First person: pure expression; feelings and subjectivity are directly expressed through the poetic voice.
• Second person: an appeal; the recipient acquires a lyrical, explicit presence.
• Third person: apparent objectivity; the voice presents what seems like an external reality.

Narrative Movements

Common narrative movements and their features:

• Scenes: the time of the story equals the time of speech; often include dialogue.
• Abstracts: narration time is shorter than the story time (summary or condensation of events).
• Breaks: narration time stops because the text becomes a description or commentary; time in the story may be considered zero.

Narrative Perspectives

Types of narrative perspective:

• Total (Omniscient): an omniscient narrator who knows the whole story and the inner lives of characters.
• Internal perspective: the narrator has access to the thoughts or feelings of one or more characters and knows as much as they do.
• External perspective: a mere observer who knows less than the characters and reports external actions without inner access.