Ode

Definition:

It is "a poem in which a person expresses a strong feeling of love or respect for someone or something" ("Encyclopædia Britannica"). It differs from other poetry especially in its form: quatrain stanzas, topic - a celebration of gods, events or natures and short lines (Serrani).

Types of odes:

• Pindaric Ode - contains 3 parts - strophe, antistrophe, epode

     ex. Ode to Aphrodite by Sappho:

     "Deathless Aphrodite, throned in flowers,

      Daughter of Zeus, O terrible enchantress,

      With this sorrow, with this anguish, break my spirit

      Lady, not longer! (...)"

• Horatian Ode - usually consists of 2-4 lines — length and rhyme scheme

     ex. The Ship of State by Allen Tate:

     "O ship the fresh tide carries back to sea again.

      Where are you going! Quickly, run for harbour.

      Can’t you see how your sides

      have been stripped bare of oars, (...)"

• Irregular Ode - irregular in rhyme and stanzas scheme

     ex. Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley

     "O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,

     Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

     Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, (...)" (Serrani)

Sources:

“Romanticism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 20 Sept. 2024, www.britannica.com/art/Romanticism. 

Serrani, Alyssa, MA. “Examples of Odes in Poetry: Types and Famous Poems.” YourDictionary, 7 Oct. 2024, www.yourdictionary.com/articles/examples-odes-poetry. 

Created by Šárka Blažková, 554055