(B) THE ODE / TYPES OF ODES ~ Literary Hunt

(B) The Ode

The ode is of Greek origin. It is a long lyrical poem which deals with a serious subject or an exalted matter. It is usually in the form of an address to the object or the person about which or whom it is written. Sometimes, it is written on some important public events such as the coronation of a king, or a national jubilee, or the death of a great leader. For Example- Tennyson's 'On the Death of the Duke of Wellington', Marvell's 'Upon Cronwell's Return îrom Ireland.
In Ode, a poet tries to show his best and highest talent. For Example, Wordsworth generally writes on simple subjects and in simple style but when he writes his 'Ode on Intimations of Immortality' he chooses a highly elevated Metaphysical and Mystical subject and writes it in equally elaborate as well as exalted style. The ode often starts with an 'apostrophe' or 'appeal, which may be repeated again in the course of its development. Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind' begins with "O Wild West Wind"; or his 'To a skylark' with "Hail to thee, blithe spirit!" or Keats's "Ode on a Grecian urn'' begins with "Thou still unravished bride of quietness" are some instances of the same.

(1) The Pindaric Ode

This ode is more elaborate and sublime. Its stanzas are very artistically interwoven. The Pindaric odes were written on the model of the odes which was written by a Greek Poet Pindar. These odes were choric and designed to be sung by a troupe of dancers in churches or public halls. A Pindaric ode has normally three parts. These are called Strophe, Anti-strophe, and Epode. The best examples of Pindaric odes in English are Gray's The Progress of Poesy' and "The Bard''.

(ii) The Horatian Ode

These odes are modeled on the odes written by Horace, a great Roman poet. These odes are comparatively calm, meditative and restrained. They are written in a repeated stanza form.

Some Important Odes and Their Writers

sn.no	Poet's Name	Name of the ode
1	Robert Herrick	An Ode for Ben Jonson
2	Abraham Cowley	On Solitude
3	Ben Johnson	An Ode; An Ode to Himself
4	John Donne	Bishop Valentine; An Hymn to God the Father
5	Milton	Ode On the Nativity of Christ
6	Marvell	Upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland
7	Dryden	Alexander's Feast; Anne Killigrew
8	Gray	The Progress of Poesy(Pindaric Ode); The Bard(Pindaric Ode); Hymn to Adversity
9	Collins	Ode On the Superstitions of the Highlands of Scotland; Ode to Evening
10	Edward Young	Ocean, an Ode
11	Thomas Campbell	Ode to Winter
12	Wordsworth	Ode to Duty; Ode on Intimations of Immortality
13	Coleridge	An Ode, Dejection
14	Shelley	Ode to the West Wind; To a Skylark; To Jane; To Night; To the Moon
15	Keats	To Nightingale; To Autumn; On Grecian Urn; To Psyche; On Melancholy; To the Poets
16	Byron	Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte; To Thomas Moore
17	Tennyson	To Virgil; Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington.

OBJECTIVE TYPE OF QUESTIONS

1."If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind ?" What is Shelley's mood as expressed in this line quoted from his Ode to the West Wind ?
(a That of hope
(b) That of negation
(c) That of despondency
(d) That of doubt

2.Horace was a ........ poet :
(a) French
(b) Greek
(c) English
(d) Roman

3.A Pindoric Ode has three parts. They are :

(a) Acronym, Ampersond, Anagram
(b) Pastel, Poster, A poster
(c) Allonym, Cannon, Affective
(d) Strophe, Antistrophe, Epode

4.Name the poet who paid a tribute to Napolean in an ode :
(a) Keats
(b) Robert Herrick
(c) Byron
(d) Tennyson

5. The most important feature of an Ode is :
(a) It is longer than a lyric
(b) Its subject is historical
(c) It is written in a rhyming verse form
(d) It is in the form of an address

6."Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird" Which bird is referred to in this ode ?
(a) The Nightingale
(b) The Cuckoo
(c) The Skylark
(d) The Pigeon

7.Ode For Ben Jonson is written by :
(a) John Donne
(b) Abraham Cowley
(c) Marvell
(d) Robert Herrick

8.''If winter comes, can spring be far behind ?" Name the Ode of this line :
(a) Ode to the West Wind
(b) Ode to Winter.
(c) Ode to Duty
(d) Ode to Melancholy

9.Who has written an Ode to Virgil ?
(a) Milton
(b) Wordsworth
(c) Byron
(d) Tennyson

10."Fled is that music,. .do I wake or sleep ?" Which ode of Keats ends with this line ?
(a) To a Nightingale
(b) To Psyche
(c) Ode on the Grecian Urn
(d) On Melancholy

11. Who is the author of Alexander's Feast ?
(a) Thomas Campbell
(b) Marvell
(c) Dryden
(d) Pope

12. ...........is the most important writer
of the Pindaric Odes in English ?
(a) Gray
(b) Dryden
(c) Keats
(d) Shelley

13."Thou still unravished bride of quietness!" What is Keats pointing to in this line ?
(a) Grecian Urn
(b) Melancholy
(c) Psyche
(d) Picture of a maiden painted on the
Grecian Urn

14. "I change, but I cannot die" Who says this in one of Shelley's Odes ?
(a) The Cloud
(b) The Poet
(c) The World
(d) The West Wind

15. "We look before and after, And pine for what is not.'' In which ode do these lines occur ?
(a) Shelley's To a Skylark
(b) Keat's Ode to an Autumn
(c) Wordsworth's ode to duty
(d) Shelley's Stanzas written in Dejection

16. "Our birth is but a sleep and forgetting" In which ode does this famous line occur ?
(a) Dryden's Alexander's Feast
(b) Milton's Nativity Ode
(c) Gray's The Peard
(d) Wordsworth's Immortality Ode

(B) THE ODE / TYPES OF ODES

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