Odes Poems of Celebration Its not true that

Odes! Poems of Celebration

It’s not true that all poems are depressing! Odes can: Celebrate Commemorate Meditate on people, events, or, in Neruda’s case, ordinary objects

A Brief History of the Ode Originally… Formally-structured Written for choruses in Greek plays to sing or chant

Pindaric Odes Named for Pindar, ancient Greek poet Chorus speaks and moves left, speaks again and moves right, then finishes with a third response Left = strophe Same stanza form Right = antistrophe Final response = epode = different form Pindaric odes were celebratory and heroic

Example: Excerpt from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind” 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, Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou, Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed

Horatian Ode In the manner of the Roman poet Horace Short lyric poems (lyric poems express thought or feelings rather than telling a story) Stanzas of 2 – 4 lines Intimate and reflective, rather than celebratory and heroic Often addressed to a friend and deal with friendship, love, and the practice of poetry.

Example: Extract from “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats (17951821) My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains (A) My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, (B) Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains (A) One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk: (B) 'Tis not through envy of the happy lot, (C) But being too happy in thy happiness, - (D) That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees, (E) In some melodious plot (C) Of beechen green, and shadows numberless, (D) Singest of summer in full-throated ease. (E)

Cowleyan Ode Named for Abraham Cowley Used by modern poets such as Neruda Modern odes may be humorous, but still commemorate the beauty poets find in unexpected places With the Cowleyan Ode, the ode is freed from formal constraints of rhyme, meter, and stanza pattern Neruda uses short-lined free verse for his odes

Listen to Neruda’s Odes…

Ode to the Watermelon

Ode to the Watermelon What is he comparing the watermelon to? What is the relationship between the people and the poem and the watermelon like? Support ideas with text. How does the poem move, progress, from beginning to end? How would you define the tone and mood of this poem?

Ode to a Chestnut on the Ground

Ode to a Chestnut on the Ground What is different about the form of address Neruda uses in this poem? How does he address the chestnut? How is this similar to, different from the last poem, and how does the mood of the poem change with this choice? Where can you find humor in this poem? How does the poem move from beginning to end? Is the chestnut “just a seed, ” or is it more? Support your ideas with text.

Ode to the Book (II)

Ode to the Book (II) What do you make of this poem? How is it similar to or different from the others? What is the book, according to Neruda? List all the attributes of the book and draw a conclusion.

Reflection Which ode is your favorite and why? How are these poems similar to and different from the other poems we’ve read by Neruda so far?

Invention: Write and illustrate your own Ode