Lyre
one of the most ancient stringed instruments. The word lyre (lyra) does not occur in Homer; he speaks only of the citharis and phorminx. The distinction between a citharis (or guitar) and a lyre is that the neck of LYRES the former runs behind the upper part of the strings, while the strings of the latter are free on both sides. Its invention is ascribed to the Grecian Hermes (in Latin Mercury), who, according to Homer's story, gave it to Apollo, the first that played on it with method and accompanied it with poetry. The invention of the primitive lyre, with three strings, is ascribed to the first Egyptian Hermes.
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Lyric
a poem, usually short, giving expression (in tuneful form) to the personal feeling of the poet. Technically speaking, the lyric is a poem that can be set to music; but, while all songs are lyrics, many of our most beautiful lyric poems do not possess that melodious arrangement of vowel and consonant sounds requisite if the lyrics are to be sung. Lyric poetry is distinctively the poetry of emotion. Dramatic poetry deals directly with action and character, as entirely outside of and apart from the poet. Epic poetry deals with a series of actions set forth by the poet, but still apart from his personal feeling. Such forms of poetry are objective. Lyric poetry is subjective. Through it, as a medium, the poet expresses the noblest thought and deepest feeling. We expect and find in lyric poetry rhythm, grace, and suggestive and beautiful imagery. Its aim is to awaken in the hearer the emotion felt by the poet. There are a great variety of lyrics. Hymns, songs, elegies, odes, and sonnets are the more important classes of lyrics; but many lyrics cannot be classified. It would seem that the variety can be limited only by the variety of the poet's moods and experiences. Burns, Shelley, Tennyson, Dobson, Swinburne, Longfellow, Lowell, and Poe may be mentioned as a few among the famous writers of lyric poetry.
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Lyric Poetry
originally poems intended to be sung to the accompaniment of the harp or lyre; now poems intended for musical recitation, and especially poems expressing or referring to the poet's individual thoughts and emotions, as distinguished from epic or is concerned with dramatic poetry, which hich external circumstances and events.
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Lys
or LEYE (li'e), a tributary of the Scheldt, rises in France near the little town of Lysbourg, in the department of Pas-de-Calais, and flows in the Scheldt at *a N. E. direction, joining joining Ghent in Belgium after a course of 130 miles. During the World War the Lys river was the scene of some of the most terrific fighting between the Allies and the Germans.
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Lysias
An Attic orator, born B. c. 458 and died B.C. 378. Lysias wrote a great number of orations, of which several are still extant. They are remarkable for their grace and elegance. 2026 Editor's Note: Lysias was an Athenian logographer and one of the ten Attic orators canonized in antiquity. Ancient critics identified him as an exemplar of the 'plain style,' emphasizing idiomatic diction, character-appropriate voice, and concise narrative framing—a marked contrast to the ornamental rhetoric the original text's mention of 'grace and elegance' might suggest. (Ed: BR 2026-06-11)
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Lysimachia
loosestrife, a genus of Primulaceæ, family Primulidæ. The calyx is five-partite, the corolla rotate, the stamens glabrous or glandular, the capsule opening at the summit, with 5 to 10 teeth or valves. The herb grows erect or creeping. Known species, 40, chiefly from the temperate Four (Lysimachia vulgaris, L. zone. nemorum, L. nummularia, and L. thyrsiflora) are British. The first and second are the most common; they have yellow flowers.
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Lysimachus
one of the generals and successors of Alexander the Great; born in 361 b. c. On the death of Alexander, 323 b. c., Thrace and the neighboring countries were the share of Lysimachus, who became also King of Macedonia in 286. The murder of his son Agathocles, at the instigation of his wife Arsinoe, provoked a revolt in Asia; Seleucus took up the cause of the widow Lysandra, and Lysimachus was killed in the battle which ensued, 281 b. c. He had assumed the title of king in 306. He was founder of a city on the Hellespont, named after him Lysimachi.
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Lysimeter
a water-tight box or cylinder for collecting and measuring rain water which percolates through the soil.
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Lysol
a disinfectant and antiseptic preparation, consisting of alkali compounds of the higher phenols, mixed with fatty and resinous soaps, manufactured by boiling a mixture of tar oils, fats, and resins with alkali. It is a brown, oily, poisonous liquid, possessing a marked odor of creosote. Specific gravity 1.042, soluble in water, alcohol, chloroform, ether, and benzene.
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Lyttelton
a port of New Zealand on South Island in the province of Canterbury. It is an important seaport, having an excellent harbor and shipping accommodations. Pop. about 5,000.
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Lytton
EDWARD, LORD LYTTON. See BULWER-LYTTON.
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Lytton, Edward Robert Bulwer
Edward Robert Bulwer (1831-1891), first Earl of Lytton, an English diplomatist and poet. He was born in London, the only son of the novelist, Lord Lytton. He was educated at Harrow and Bonn, and entered the diplomatic service in 1849, holding posts in several European capitals. He was secretary of legation at Copenhagen, Athens, Lisbon and Madrid. He was made viceroy of India by Disraeli in 1876. He was well known as a poet under the name of Owen Meredith. His books include Lucile, Clytemnestra and other Poems, The Ring of Amasis, Orval or the Fool of Time, and King Poppy. In literature and in public life Lytton was a worthy son of a distinguished father.
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