Following a short review of the relations between poetry and music in history, the writer examines the phenomenon of
“quality poetry” set to music by contemporary Greek composers and the vast popularity of their compositions (leading composers in this movement are Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hatzidakis).The writer distinguishes these songs into
“poetry set to music” and “poetry sung”. The distinction has one technical and one sociological aspect. The latter is firmly connected with the political and social history of Greece, as well as with the personalities of the composers.
*Lecture delivered at the Fifth Congress of Poetry in Patras,
June 1985.