What is an ode?

Ode

Ode:

 An ode is  basically a form of poetry wherein a person or an object (subject)  is praised. In fact the poem is addressed towards the subject. The origin of odes rooted from ancient Greece where songs where sung in the praise of  heroes , warriors and other great people as evident from the Greek word ōidē (ᾠδή) meaning song which gave raise to the word ode. 

    Sadly the first few odes of the world are not available  now as they were only sung and never written. 

There are broadly 3 types of odes :

     

         1. Pindaric ode

         

          2.  Horatian ode

          3. Irregular ode

Pindaric ode:

  

       Pindaric odes are the odes adapted from Pindar who was one of the nine lyrical poets of ancient Greece.  These nine lyicals are the pioneers of lyrical poetry that lead to the songs we enjoy.  To put it in my words the  nine lyrical poets,  great grand pappies to rock,  blues,  pop and what not.

  Enough of history!  What is Pindaric ode,  how do we write it? 

Pindaric ode consists of 3 stanzas .Mind you each one even has a name. And each of these stanzas have 10 lines. 

 The first stanza is called strophe where in you write a stanza with a particular structure and rhyming scheme 

         Second         antistrophe which mirrors the strophe.  It has the same syllable count and rhyming scheme as the strophe

 and the third  is  called epode.  It has a different structure.  It differs from the strophe and antistrophe.  And follows its own syllable count and rhyming scheme.

Eg : Victory ode by Pindar (which was originally in Greek) 

 let's analyse Edmund Spencer's Epithalamion

Ode

Ode:

 An ode is  basically a form of poetry wherein a person or an object (subject)  is praised. In fact the poem is addressed towards the subject. The origin of odes rooted from ancient Greece where songs where sung in the praise of  heroes , warriors and other great people as evident from the Greek word ōidē (ᾠδή) meaning song which gave raise to the word ode. 

    Sadly the first few odes of the world are not available  now as they were only sung and never written. 

There are broadly 3 types of odes :

     

         1. Pindaric ode

         

          2.  Horatian ode

          3. Irregular ode

Pindaric ode:

  

       Pindaric odes are the odes adapted from Pindar who was one of the nine lyrical poets of ancient Greece.  These nine lyicals are the pioneers of lyrical poetry that lead to the songs we enjoy.  To put it in my words the  nine lyrical poets,  great grand pappies to rock,  blues,  pop and what not.

  Enough of history!  What is Pindaric ode,  how do we write it? 

Pindaric ode consists of 3 stanzas .Mind you each one even has a name. And each of these stanzas have 10 lines. 

 The first stanza is called strophe where in you write a stanza with a particular structure and rhyming scheme 

         Second         antistrophe which mirrors the strophe.  It has the same syllable count and rhyming scheme as the strophe

 and the third  is  called epode.  It has a different structure.  It differs from the strophe and antistrophe.  And follows its own syllable count and rhyming scheme.

Eg : Victory ode by Pindar (which was originally in Greek) 

 Let's analyse Edmund Spenser's Epithalamion 

Wake up, you little sleep head, awake

And give great joy to life that’s found in dreams

From Nature’s most sweet sounding streams

A thousand turns their twisty journeys take

The dancing flowers, that above them blow

Breathe life and music as they flow

Now the vast waves of sound drift along

Deep, beautiful, vast and strong

Through the fields and vales and valleys they glide

And rolling down the mountain side

Daring and carefree the water pours

From the highest edge they jump and falling, they roar.

It is clear from this poem that first stanza or strophe has 3 lines , so does the second stanza.  It follows the rhyme scheme abb and the second stanza follows acc.  So it mirrors the first stanza.  If you want you could even stick to maintaining same syllable counts. 

Horatian ode : 

      Horatian odes are adapted from the latin poet Horace.  Here all the stanzas have the same structure ie if first line of first stanza was an iambic pentameter.  Same went with first line of every other stanza.  Suppose,  if first stanza followed the rhyming scheme ABABCDEF,  rest of the stanzas followed the same. So stanzas in Horatian ode are called "homostrophic"

Here "Ode on Solitude" by Alexander Pope is an example. 

Sound sleep by night; study and ease,

Together mixed; sweet recreation;

And innocence, which most does please,

With meditation.

Here first stanza follows the rhyme scheme ABAB and so does the second stanza.  A Pindaric ode has only 3 stanzas but a Horatian ode can span any length. 

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;

Thus unlamented let me die;

Steal from the world, and not a stone

Tell where I lie.

Irregular ode. 

 

    Any ode other than above two forms come under the irregular.  Most modern odes fall here. Irregular doesn't  mean that they do not  rhyme or dont have a specific  syllable count. It's just that they may have any number of stanzas and it is not necessary  for all the stanzas to have the same syllable count. 

Eg: An ode to the Grecian Urn by John Keats. Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,

       Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,

Sylvan historian, who canst thus express

       A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:

What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape

       Of deities or mortals, or of both,

               In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?

       What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?

What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?

               What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard

       Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;

Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,

       Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:

Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave

       Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;

               Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,

Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve;

       She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,

               For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed

         Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;

And, happy melodist, unwearied,

         For ever piping songs for ever new;

More happy love! more happy, happy love!

         For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,

                For ever panting, and for ever young;

All breathing human passion far above,

         That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,

                A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.

Who are these coming to the sacrifice?

         To what green altar, O mysterious priest,

Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,

         And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?

What little town by river or sea shore,

         Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,

                Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?

And, little town, thy streets for evermore

         Will silent be; and not a soul to tell

                Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.

O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede

         Of marble men and maidens overwrought,

With forest branches and the trodden weed;

         Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought

As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!

         When old age shall this generation waste,

                Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe

Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,

         "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all

                Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

This is definitely different from pindaric ode because it has more than three stanza and is not of the strophe - antistrophe - epode format. 

And this is not Horatian because number of lines vary with each stanza. 

Steps to write an ode

  1. Chose any subject that inspires you.  The subject is the heart of the ode.

2.  It is traditional to name the ode as " An ode to 'subject'". But it is not necessary.

3. It should be like you are singing a ballad to the subject

4. Follow the simple rules for each subtype as mentioned above.  

That's sing a new ode to a lovely subject that inspires you. 

Note: None of the poems we present belong to us. We present an organized record and analysis of them. All copyrights are reserved to the original author and we are not using plagiarized work. The originality of the writes is verified to the fullest extent we can

-Radhuga( member of  team PoeTree FoRest