10 The Ekphrasis: History and Form
What do you know about ekphrastic poetry?
“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”
The Ekphrasis
Eking out possibility and meaning - Searching to the core and connecting - the word and the image - two - merged into one - the ekphrasis.
The Exphrasis: The History and the Form
The word “ekphrasis” come from the Greek “ek,” meaning “out of” and “phrazin,” meaning “ to explain.” The ekphrasis is a vivid description. More specifically, it is any genre of writing that describes any type of art or object. First appearing in Greece with Homer’s vivid description of the shield of Achilles in Book 18 of his epic poem, “The Iliad.” The ekphrasis did not appear in England until the Eighteenth century.
Notable writers of this form are Homer, Percy Shelley, Robert Browning, W.H. Auden, Anne Sexton, William Carlos Williams, and Allen Ginsberg.
The form of the ekphrasis varies. It can have any number of lines and any number of stanzas. Ekphrastic poems can rhyme or not. And the meter and the refrain are the choice of the writer. In fact, some ekphrastic poetry is in the shape of another style of poem. A notable example of this “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats, which is at one an ode and simultaneously, an ekphrastic poem.
Resources
Bloom, Harold. The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Frost. First, Harper Collins, 2004.
Boland, Eavan, and Mark Strand. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. Reprint, W. W. Norton & Company, 2001.
Poetic Meter and Poetic Form by Fussell (1-Jan-1979) Paperback. Revised, McGraw-Hill Higher Education; Revised edition edition (1 Jan. 1979), 1979.
Questions
What do you know about ekphrastic poetry?
Have you ever read or listened to an ekphrastic poem?
Do you have a favorite exphrasis?
Have you ever written an ekphrasis?
If you were to write an ekphrasis, what art would you like to describe?
9 How to Write a Villanelle
Would you like to write a villanelle?
“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”
My Villanelle:
Spring Garden, a villanelle
Drip drip - splash - blue puddles - Spring.
Mix and mash and plant the seeds
Sugar snaps, carrots, lettuce greens.
Blue birds posting and crows convene
I dance ‘round and weed the weeds.
Drip drip - splash - blue puddles - Spring.
Bending low, a mushroom ring
Magic grow and perlite beads
Sugar snaps, carrots, lettuce greens.
Weatherman watch, the wren do sing
Of retreating winter and all his deeds
Drip drip - splash - blue puddles - Spring.
One, four, nine, sixteen
Drip drip drops - all pattering - pleads
Sugar snaps, carrots, lettuce greens.
Rising sunshine glittering anew
“Here and Now” my wholesome creed
Drip drip - splash - blue puddles - Spring.
Sugar snaps, carrots, lettuce greens.
Discover yourself through writing - listen, learn, tap in - and express - For today, try writing a villanelle - Read and watch how to now ~
Consider the Villanelle:
Considering all of the strict parameters involved, writing a villanelle might seem difficult. To be a villanelle, the poem has to be 19 lines, and broken up into six stanzas, 5 of which are tercets with an ABA rhyme scheme and a final quatrain with an ABAA rhyme scheme. There are also two refrains. The first line of the first stanza repeats as the last line of stanzas 2 and 4, and the third line of stanza 6. And the last line of the first stanza repeats as the last line of stanzas 3 and 5, and the last line of the poem. For a greater challenge you can even play with the meter and write in iambic pentameter. But since this is optional, I will not include how to do that today. Again writing a villanelle might seem too challenging. But all you have to do is create a graphic organizer and get to work. Once you begin, the form beautifully shapes itself.
So, grab a sheet of paper and a pencil or pen, and let’s begin.
Make a graphic Organizer:
Here is an example. You may use this one.
Consider the Content:
You can write a villanelle about anything. The circular nature of the poem lends itself to emotions. Have you ever had a thought that was so wrapped up in your emotions that you could not let go of it? Perhaps you have one now. If you do, writing a villanelle, may be a good way to honor it. Sylvia Plath, in her amazing villanelle, Mad Girl’s Love Song, wrote about abandoned love. Passerat in I Have Lost My Turtledove, Theodore Roethke in The Waking, and Dylan Thomas in Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night, all wrote about about loss. I wrote about gardening. I choose this because gardening is something I like to do. And also, because the villanelle was inspired by harvesting songs, and so, I thought that subject fitting.
Create the Refrain
Once you get your subject, create your refrain. Perhaps this is the most important task of writing a villanelle. On the first line in your template, write out the first words that your heart generates, or perhaps the first thought that comes to your mind, and end in a word that make a good rhyme sound: something easy to rhyme with. Then move to line three, and, following the same procedure, write another line about your subject, ending in a word of the same sound. These two lines are repeating, so, right away, copy them over into your graphic organizer where prompted to repeat them. At this point, you have created your refrain. And, you have already written 8 lines of your poem. Wow!
Gather your Rhymes and Complete
Then move up to line 2 of the poem. Write something about your subject that ends in a different rhyming sound — again something you will find easy with which to rhyme. At this point, especially if you are new to rhyming and writing poems, you may want to you a search tool and find all of the various words that rhyme with this second rhyme sound that you have chosen. Of all of the words, choose your favorites and jot those down into your grid at the end of every line that has “b” listed in the rhyme scheme column. Do the same for all the “a’s” that are left. And there you have it! Your villanelle.
Revise, Rewrite, Edit, and Share
Revise and edit and type it up beautifully if you would like to do so. And share it. Sharing poems is so much fun! Don’t forget to share it with me by posting in the comments. I can’t wait to read you work!
Blessings
Thanks so much for joining me today! I hope you have a beautiful day. Peace for now, and remember stay CHARMED.
Questions
Would you like to write a villanelle?
Is there something that has been on your mind that you are thinking about over and over?
Do you feel poetic?
8 A Villanelle to Consider
Do you have a favorite villanelle?
Reflection
I love the story that goes with this poem. Passerat was on holiday in Italy and was inspired by the harvesters who were singing rustic shepherd songs in rounds. He return to his home in France and penned this posey out - developing the standard form of the villanelle that we still use today. For this particular work, even though I am only able to examine the words as they have been translated into English, I am taken by the complexity of the form and the simplicity of the voice. Such simple imagery and syntax - and so many poetic parameters. The two work together beautifully. I also love the idea that this style has its roots in songs sung to make lighter the load. I sing this with Passerat, and I feel sad - I think of the doves cooing - it is a plaintive sound the doves make. I read and am sad— but at the same time, my burden is lightened. I as go through the cycles of thought here, it’s like going through the stages of grieving. Round and round: disbelief, loneliness, anger, bargaining, utter sadness, and finally acceptance.
A Villanelle to Consider:
VILLANELLE by Jean Passerat
J'ay perdu ma Tourterelle:
Est-ce point celle que j'oy?
Je veus aller aprés elle.
Tu regretes ta femelle,
Helas! aussi fai-je moy,
J'ay perdu ma Tourterelle.
Si ton Amour est fidelle,
Aussi est ferme ma foy,
Je veus aller aprés elle.
Ta plainte se renouvelle;
Tousjours plaindre je me doy:
J'ay perdu ma Tourterelle.
En ne voyant plus la belle
Plus rien de beau je ne voy:
Je veus aller aprés elle.
Mort, que tant de fois j'appelle,
Pren ce qui se donne à toy:
J'ay perdu ma Tourterelle,
Je veus aller aprés elle.
Villanelle by Jean Passerat
- translated by Amanda French
I have lost my turtledove:
Isn't that her gentle coo?
I will go and find my love.
Here you mourn your mated love;
Oh, God—I am mourning too:
I have lost my turtledove.
If you trust your faithful dove,
Trust my faith is just as true;
I will go and find my love.
Plaintively you speak your love;
All my speech is turned into
"I have lost my turtledove."
Such a beauty was my dove,
Other beauties will not do;
I will go and find my love.
Death, again entreated of,
Take one who is offered you:
I have lost my turtledove;
I will go and find my love.
Resources
French, Amanda. "The First Villanelle: A New Translation of Jean Passerat's 'J'ay perdu ma Tourterelle' (1574). Meridian 12 (2003): 30-37. <http://amandafrench.net/firstvillanelle.xhtml>
Questions
What type of poem is this?
How many lines are in this poem?
Do you see any repeating words or phrase?
What imagery stands out to you?
Does the writer employ figurative language? If so, explain.
What is your interpretation of this poem?
How do the words make you feel?
Does this work inspire you in any way?
7 The Villanelle and the Villanellists
Who is your favorite writer of the villanelle?
Naples National Archaeological Museum, public domain.
“Nothing . . . nothing is greater than Socrates’ wisdom - indeed, by his own affirmation, nothing is Socrates’ wisdom . . . ”
Jean Passerat
Jean Passerat was born on October 18, 1534, in the provincial city of Troyes in France, about 90 miles east of Paris on the Seine River. He died on September 14, 1602 in Paris. Known today as the French poet who first penned the villanelle, in his time, his villanelles were not highly regarded, though he was quite popular as a writer, thinker, and speaker. Passerat was also a political satirist and also was a distinguished professor.
In his time, of all of his poetry, nothing was as popular as his poem on nothing called, “De Nihilo,”
Passerat never married. His writings were edited and published posthumously by a nephew. The very first villanelle “J’ai perdu ma tourterelle” which is translated as “I Have Lost My Turtle Dove,” was published in 1606, four years after his death. With this and a few other villanelles that he wrote, he standardized the form that is still used today. I have heard that Passerat was inspired to write this villanelle while on a walking holiday in Italy where he heard harvesters singing in the fields as they worked. I have also heard that the villanelle was inspired by the shepherd songs of old. Clearly, Passerat liked the simplicity of the these rustic songs and the rounds made in the song, and incorporated these components into the structure of his poem through the use of simple syntax, simple rhyme, and refrains. In 1906, three hundred years after its first publication, this first villanelle, “J’ay perdu ma Tourterelle,” was translated into English. The form was revived in the middle of the nineteenth century by writers such as Theodore de Banville, James Joyce, Dylan Thomas, Elizabeth Bishop, Theodore Roethke, Seamus Heaney, and Sylvia Plath.
Thank you for joing me. Tune in tomorrow as we examine Passerat’s poem, “I Have Lost My Turtle Dove” up close. Until then, stay CHARMED.
Resources
Bloom, Harold. The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Frost. First, Harper Collins, 2004.
Boland, Eavan, and Mark Strand. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. Reprint, W. W. Norton & Company, 2001.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Jean Passerat". Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Oct. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Passerat. Accessed 4 September 2021.
Poetic Meter and Poetic Form by Fussell (1-Jan-1979) Paperback. Revised, McGraw-Hill Higher Education; Revised edition edition (1 Jan. 1979), 1979.
White, Paul. " The Poetics of Nothing: Jean Passerat’s ‘De Nihilo’ and its Legacy". Erudition and the Republic of Letters 5.3 (2020): 237-273. https://doi.org/10.1163/24055069-00503001 Web.
Questions
What do you know about odes?
Have you ever read or listened to an ode?
Do you have a favorite ode?
Have you ever written an ode?
If you were to write an ode, what or who would be your subject?
6 The Villanelle: History and Form
What do you know about the villanelle?
“Sometimes for the release of the deepest and most secret feeling, to use a very strict form is a help, because you concentrate on the technical difficulties of mastering the form, and allow the content of the poem a more unconscious and freer release.”
The Villanelle
Lyrical. Memorable. Full of emotion and expressive - a laugh or a cry - the villanelle has roots in the fields sung as an easy melody to make hard work lighter - Modernized and swanky - playful - With a direct tone that can be loose and feathery are terse, abrupt- the villanelle describes lovesickness and yearning - loss and burning - freeing - releasing - A fixed form - full of complexity and simplicity at once ~
The Villanelle: The History and the Form
"Villanelle" comes from the Latin villa, meaning country house or farm and the Italian word villano meaning peasant.
I have heard that the form was first realized by the French poet Jean Passerat who while taking a walking tour in Italy was charmed by the songs sung in the field by harvesters as they worked. Inspired, we he returned to his home in France, he penned the first villanelle: “
Though simple, the form is strict and there are a lot of parameters for a villanelle to be a villanelle.
The poem is always written in nineteen lines with six stanzas. The first five stanzas are written as tercets with an ABA rhyme scheme and the last stanza is written as a quatrain with an ABAA rhyme scheme. The poem also has two refrains. The first line of the first stanza repeats as the last line of stanzas two and four and line three of stanza six. The third line of the first stanza repeats as the last lines of stanzas three and five and the last line in stanza six.
A1 b A2 - Lines in first tercet.
a b A1 - Lines in second tercet.
a b A2 - Lines in third tercet.
a b A1 - Lines in fourth tercet.
a b A2 - Lines in fifth tercet.
a b A1 A2 - Lines in final quatrain.
Traditionally the meter is in iambic pentameter- 5 feet with 10 beats (syllables) - dah DUM dah DUM dah DUM da DUM da DUM - the sound resounds - that ancient sound that mimics the sound of the heart beating —Think of Theodore Rilke’s “I wake/ to sleep/ and take/ my wak/ing slow” - beautiful! . . . but not all villanelles are written in this meter.
This form is circular and not narrative. And because of this, we can see so very clearly how form affects tone, the attitude of the writer toward the subject or the reader, and mood, the way the writer wants the read to feel. The circular quality created through the refrains allows the writer to express the ongoing nature of thoughts and feelings. That coupled with the iambic pentameter with its rhythm of the heart beating - the vibration of life—calls writers and readers of the form to tune in to their own feelings - Like lyric poetry, this form often addresses deeply personal ideas like - loss - or love.
I have read that it was not a highly regarded style in Passart’s day: his peers thought it quaint but not important, and it wasn’t even published until after Passerat’s death in 1606. With this publication, it became popular and was often read aloud in social settings. In time — a lot of time, in fact exactly three hundred years later in 1906, Passerat’s poem of the turtledove was first published in English. Of interest to note, this was not the first villanelle to be published in English. In the late 1800s’ in England, French poetry became popular. One of the first in England to use the form was Oscar Wilde, who wrote “Theocritus: A Villanelle.” Since this time, many highly respected poets have turned to this form including Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop, Dylan Thomas, and Sylvia Plath.
“Some of the finest poets have turned to the villanelle.”
Resources
Bloom, Harold. The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Frost. First, Harper Collins, 2004.
Boland, Eavan, and Mark Strand. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. Reprint, W. W. Norton & Company, 2001.
Poetic Meter and Poetic Form by Fussell (1-Jan-1979) Paperback. Revised, McGraw-Hill Higher Education; Revised edition edition (1 Jan. 1979), 1979.
Questions
What do you know about villanelles?
Have you ever read or listened to a villanelle?
Do you have a favorite villanelle?
Have you ever written a villanelle?
If you were to write a villanelle, what words would you repeat?
5 How to Write an Irregular Ode
Would you like to write an ode?
“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.”
Do you have some deep emotions of gratitude that you would like to convey? Are you overflowing with thanksgiving and need an outlet by which to channel your feelings of positivity? Or maybe you are seeking to raise your vibes and are wondering just how to do that! Try writing an ode:an irregular ode! Read and watch how to now! If you are ready, grab some paper and a pencil or pen and let’s begin!
First - Consider the Ode - and the purpose of the ode:
When preparing to write an ode, it is good to first remember that the ode is all about praising someone, or something, some event, or even some idea. While traditionally odes are highly structured, today, I’m asking you to consider only the irregular ode which is - well, irregular. The irregular ode can be any length. It can rhyme, but it doesn’t have to rhyme. The only thing you have to make sure to do is to remember that with an ode, your singular purpose is to directly address your topic and to praise that topic.
Plan with a Graphic Organizer
If you are new to writing odes, try using a graphic organizer to get started. This is not required step of course, but is simply a helpful tool to help you generate thoughts and organize them. To make this, draw a circle in the center of you paper. The draw a much larger outer circle encompassing your first circle. Then draw 8 lines waiting from the outer edge of your first circle to the edge of you second circle making 8 pie slices. Number these slices 1 - 8.
Pick a topic:
Who or what in your life deserves your praise? Now it is time to think about who or what you would like to praise. To whom would you like to show your appreciation? What is something or who someone for whom you would like to give thanks? As you answer these questions, you are getting close to your topic. Just select one. Write the name of that person, animal, or thing in the center circle. This is your subject. Everything you write about will be about this subject, and addressed to this subject.
Generate Some Thoughts:
Use the following prompts, or come up with your own, to generate some thoughts about your subject. As you read each prompt, write a response to it in the corresponding slices that you just created in your diagram. If you do not like one of these prompts, or cannot think of anything to go with it, make a new one. This list is not set in stone. It is just a way to get started. As you respond to these prompts (or your own if you have chosen to rewrite them) let your words fly. Keep them praising. Keep them lofty. Open your heart to your purpose and let all of the good thoughts and feelings out, fill, and overflow. And write. Write write. Let the words fly.
Name your subject and give an elevated description.
Give a detailed physical description.
List positive words related to your subject.
Compare your subject to something nice.
List sounds and/or smells related to your subject.
Think of and relate a positive memory about your subject.
Repeat your subject’s name.
Create a hyperbole, an exaggeration about your subject or simply thank your subject.
Put Pen to Paper:
Now, after exhausting your flow of ideas, take your words and write your ode. Use each pie slice to create a line or two. Again, you can rhyme and have a fixed meter if you want to, but this is not a requirement.
Revise and rewrite:
Review your work. Revise if you feel you need to change. Rewrite if you notice a weakness in the way you are expressing yourself.
Edit:
After reviewing for needed changes, go over your work again, correcting any spelling or grammar errors.
Celebrate:
Reread and celebrate your work. Allow your joy at expressing joy for another.
Share:
Odes are the perfect kind of poem to share, especially with the person they are about - Also, please share by adding your ode to the comments below. I would love to read it!
My Ode:
The following ode is one that I wrote for this blog post. I wrote it for you. I call it “Ode to You.” I hope you like it.
Ode to You
You - I see you
Always showing up
Making it happen
Creating the life you love
Peaceful
Confident
You speak, “Bip, bop.”
And your words are heard - tip top
A game changer
in a world where things need
to be changed
Y - O - U - sometimes just U
There you are
All of you
I thank you
Thank you
Questions (These are the 8 prompts I used to fill in my diagram in the video.)
Who or what in your life deserves your praise?
How would you describe your subject of adoration physically?
What positive words can you think of that relate to this person or thing?
To what does your subject compare?
How does your subject sound or smell?
What memories do you have related to your subject?
What again is the name of your subject?
How would you like to exaggerate about your subject?
4 An Ode to Consider
Do you have a favorite ode?
An Ode to Consider:
“In your eyes the flames of twilight fought on.
And the leaves fell on the water of your soul.”
Ode to the Onion by Pablo Neurda
Onion,
luminous flask,
your beauty formed
petal by petal,
crystal scales expanded you
and in the secrecy of the dark earth
your belly grew round with dew.
Under the earth
the miracle
happened
and when your clumsy
green stem appeared,
and your leaves were born
like swords
in the garden,
the earth heaped up her power
showing your naked transparency,
and as the remote sea
in lifting the breasts of Aphrodite
duplicating the magnolia,
so did the earth
make you,
onion
clear as a planet
and destined
to shine,
constant constellation,
round rose of water,
upon
the table
of the poor.
You make us cry without hurting us.
I have praised everything that exists,
but to me, onion, you are
more beautiful than a bird
of dazzling feathers,
heavenly globe, platinum goblet,
unmoving dance
of the snowy anemone
and the fragrance of the earth lives
in your crystalline nature.
Reflection:
What a delightful poem! Neruda’s “Ode to the Onion” is a favorite for sure. I must say that a really do love onions. Onions bring me joy - and so I feel a kinship to Neruda as he waxes on about this root. But I also love the way Neruda writes. I love how he dances from one word to the next, calling out the magnificence of such a common vegetable. He successfully juxtaposes its cosmic significance as a “constant constellation” with its inclusive availability “upon the table of the poor.” I like too, how the word “constellation” sounds like “consolation” - I think how the onion, for me, is such a consoling friend - always in my kitchen - constantly by my side. In my studies of the ode - I also was delighted to read of Aphrodite in this poem. He writes, “as the remote sea / in lifting the breasts of Aphrodite / duplicating the magnolia, / so did the earth / make you, / onion. Here, perhaps Neruda, as he is alluding to the goddess of love, is simultaneously alluding to one of the earliest odes, “Ode to Aphrodite” by Sappho and thus situating his work with the works of the ancient ones who praised gods and goddesses - and his point - that the onion is just as significant to the world, and just as divine, and deserves just as much praise. I agree. Do you have a vegetable that you would like to sing about? If you do, list it in the comments below and be sure to share why you like it so very much. Join me tomorrow and we can write an ode together! Until then - stay CHARMED.
Questions
What type of ode is this?
How many lines are in this poem?
Do you see any repeating words or phrase?
What imagery stands out to you?
Does the writer employ figurative language? If so, explain.
What is your interpretation of this poem?
How do the words make you feel?
Does this work inspire you in any way?
3 The Ode and the Odists
Who is your favorite odist?
Naples National Archaeological Museum, public domain.
“. . . someone will remember us I say even in another time.”
The Odist:
Pindar for one, Horace too and Sappho. Keats and Shelly and Milton. Neruda. A sort of a poet. A penner of a poem with a particular purpose. Writers of praiseful poems. With lyrical lips vibing through to their pen tips, they write - oding to Odin or Aphrodite or onion, or socks . . .
“Words have a longer life than deeds.”
— Pindar
Pindar
Pindar lived from c. 518 – 438 BC. Born in Greece, he was named among the greatest of the lyric poets. He first developed the ode. Of all the styles of the ode, his is by far the most elaborate and formal. Many of his works have been lost and only fragments remain; however, in 1513, Aldus Manutius published four books of Pindar’s epinician odes. each giving tribute through ode to the winning athletes of the Classical Grecian games: the Olympian, Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean.
In 1510, Pierre de Ronsard published four books of French modeled after Pindar’s examples, and in 1757, writer Thomas Gray was the first to pen the Pindaric style of ode in English. The form began to shift with Abraham Cowley’s odes of 1656, influencing later writers such as Dryden, Wordsworth, Shelley, Tennyson and John Keats.
“A picture is a poem without words.”
— Horace
Horace
Born Quintus Horatius Flaccus in December 65BC, Roman writer, known historically as Horace, developed another distinct style of ode now known as the Horatian ode. Writing on themes of love and friendship his works were much less elaborate and were suited more for reading.
“What cannot be said will be wept.”
― Sappho
Sappho
Sappho lived between 610 BCE to 570 BCE. She lived and worked in Greece though she was exiled twice for her political views. She was so popular that her image was stamped on coins. Little is known about her for sure. She was born to an aristocratic family and is thought to have had 3 brothers. She married and had a little girl. A lyric poet and a musician, she was known as "The Tenth Muse" and "The Poetess” and named as one of the nine lyric poets, equated with the nine muses. She invented a type of lyre, which is a type of a musical instrument and developed the Sapphic verse which consists of 3 lines of 11 beats and a concluding line of 5 beats. She ran a school for women. Today, for the most part, only fragments of her work remain.
“When I have fears that I may cease to be before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain.”
—John Keats
John Keats
Born in 1795, in London, English Romantic poet John Keats is known for the many odes he wrote before his early death at the age of 25 in the winter of 1821. In the fall of 1819, Keats contracted tuberculosis, the same disease that took most of his family. Even though he began referring to his life as his “posthumous existence,” he was quite the prolific writer during this time as if the awareness of leaving soon, heightened his senses. In July 1820, he published his third and arguably best volume of poetry, Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems in which his most treasured works including Ode on a Grecian Urn, Ode on Melancholy, and Ode to a Nightingale were first presented.
“Give me the sorrow / of the entire world/ and I will turn it into hope.”
—Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
One of my favorite odists is Pablo Neurda. Writer of 225 odes, Neurda was born on July 12, 1904 in Chile and died at the age of 69 on September 23, 1973. I love the freedom he brings to the form. Light and airy, his words move quickly from one to another, but with weight too. He has a way of significating the insignificant and making the ordinary, extraordinary! Tomorrow, we will consider one of my personal favorites of his odes: “Ode to the Onion.”
Resources
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Pindaric ode". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Feb. 2008, https://www.britannica.com/art/Pindaric-ode. Accessed 2 September 2021.
Questions
What do you know about odes?
Who is your favorite odist?
Have you ever read or listened to an ode?
Do you have a favorite ode?
Have you ever written an ode?
If you were to write an ode, what or who would be your subject?
2 The Ode: History and Form
What do you know about odes?
“She dotes on poetry, sir. She adores it; I may say that her whole soul and mind are wound up, and entwined with it. She has produced some delightful pieces, herself, sir. You may have met with her ‘Ode to an Expiring Frog,’ sir.”
The Ode
An exalted form of expression with a singular purpose, the ode is a song of praise. Originally developed as an intricately structured three part lyrical poem to be chanted by a chorus while accompanied by musical instruments, the ode has been used as song to praise or glorify an individual, an idea, or an event. While today, the form varies, the ode always uses a direct address to elevate and even celebrate someone or something.
“Deathless Aphrodite, throned in flowers,
Daughter of Zeus, O terrible enchantress,
With this sorrow, with this anguish, break my spirit
Lady, not longer!
Hear anew the voice! O hear and listen!
Come, as in that island dawn thou camest,
Billowing in thy yoked car to Sappho
Forth from thy father’s
Golden house in pity! . . . ”
The Ode: The History and the Form
"Ode" comes from the Greek aeidein, meaning to sing or chant and/ or oide, meaning song.
The ode has gone through many changes throughout history, and there are several forms.
Historically, the first type that I have studied is known as the Pindaric Ode. This form was developed by Pindar, a Greek poet who was writing during the 5th century BC. The Pindaric ode is a highly structured poem, grandiose and dramatic, and is designed to be performed on a stage chanted by a chorus and accompanied by dancers and music. This form consists of several parts: the strophe (the beginning), antistrophe (the middle), and epode (the end). While the strophe and antistrophe share a common meter and length the epode does not. In this form, allusions to mythological beings, places, and events are common.
The Horatian ode, named after Roman poet Horace, was created during the 1st century. Not as elaborate as the Pindaric, this type is much more regular in form, consisting of two to four line stanzas which are all uniform in meter, rhyme scheme, and length. In this type of ode, daily life is elevated. This style is more of a text to be read than a production to be experienced.
The more modern, irregular ode breaks away from the structures of the Pindaric and the Horatian. The style is diverse. Odists of the irregular ode do rhyme sometimes, and sometimes, they do not rhyme. Lines and stanzas are irregular.
“The ode . . . elevated the person, the object, to occasion.”
Resources
Bloom, Harold. The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Frost. First, Harper Collins, 2004.
Boland, Eavan, and Mark Strand. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. Reprint, W. W. Norton & Company, 2001.
Poetic Meter and Poetic Form by Fussell (1-Jan-1979) Paperback. Revised, McGraw-Hill Higher Education; Revised edition edition (1 Jan. 1979), 1979.
Questions
What do you know about odes?
Have you ever read or listened to an ode?
Do you have a favorite ode?
Have you ever written an ode?
If you were to write an ode, what or who would be your subject?
1 The Benefits of Poetry
Have you considered the benefits poetry offers to your body, mind, and soul?
“There is not a particle of life which does not bear poetry within it.”
Poetry: The Benefits of Words and Wordsmithing.
Poetry for the Mind, Body, and Soul
The beat, rhythm, and rhyme of poetry that move me, the mystery, metaphor, and allusion that lure me, the streamlining of words and profusion of thoughts that meet with me, entirely engage me-the all of me: my mind, my body, and my soul.
Poetry benefits my mind. Intellectually, poetry stimulates me. Becoming aware of or finding the perfect word to express a thought with exactness, strengthens my mind. Words read and written in rhyme with rhythm and meter stimulate my cognitive process and bolster my positivity. My mind awakens. While reading and writing, I increase my mastery of words - enriching and illuminating my bank of vocabulary. Grappling with meaning conveyed through imagery and literary devices expands and elevates my thinking.
Poetry is good for my body, both my physical body individual and my body collective, in a societal sense. As for the physical, while enhancing positive mental activity, my brain is strengthened. When spoken, the words loosen my jaws, my cheeks, my tongue, my throat and even my ears, relieving tension and stress. Poetry increases my verbal skills, helping me to speak with confidence and clarity and to listen with an attentive patience. As for the body collective, simply reading a poem opens my mind to another, and as I join into conversation with the poet, I find that I am not alone. While working with poetry, I cultivate interpersonal skills such as understanding, openness, empathy, and patience. Poetry helps me to connect with others. Sharing a poem, connects me with others and creates community. I can share my thoughts and feelings with others, and grow to understand the thoughts and feelings of others. As poetry enhances my verbal skills, my communication skills also improve, and I become more open to listening to the opinion of another. I learn to process proactively rather than reactively. Miscommunication is minimized- what a prize! And too, I find it marvelous how the iambic pentameter of the sonnet and villanelle, the most common meter in English poetry, mimics the sound of the heart beating: da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM - how very intimate! It is my body that inspires that rhythm and the rhythm that brings a comfortable feeling of rightness with my words.
Poetry is good for my soul. Engaging in this ancient art of shaping and shifting words, I am fascinated how each is carefully crafted and perfectly placed for sound and meaning. Poetry inspires me and is an outlet for my inspirations. Poetry is therapeutic. I commemorate with poetry. I celebrate with poetry. Thoughts and feelings can be clarified and articulated. I become more self aware and a depth of being is realized. My mood is boosted and all depression is dispelled. I express myself freely and suppressed feelings are released! And the poem, the poems I produce are tangible - delighting my soul - and my all - my mind - my body - and my soul~
I do hope you will join me for this series. I will be posting every day. Until next time - remember - stay CHARMED!
Questions
Do you like reading or writing poetry?
Is poetry important to you?
Do you have a favorite poem?
Have you considered how beneficial poetry is to your body, mind, and soul?