How to Write an Ode Poem

The ancient Greeks and Romans often sang their odes in celebration of great athletes, memorable events and magnificent places. Through time the ode was transformed by English scholars into something more meditative and private. It evolved again, when Romantic Era poets reached back into history and tried to emulate the great poets, combining both previous forms into an even more unique exploration of the form.

Whether you've been assigned to write an ode as a classroom project, or you're simply looking to expand your poetic horizons, read on for instructions on how to write an ode.

Ode Writing Tips

Choose your subject.
Choose the style of ode you'd like to write.
Follow the required format for your ode.
Proofread and edit.
Workshop with other poets.
Share your ode with an audience.

The ancient Greeks and Romans often sang their odes in celebration of great athletes, memorable events and magnificent places. Through time the ode was transformed by English scholars into something more meditative and private. It evolved again, when Romantic Era poets reached back into history and tried to emulate the great poets, combining both previous forms into an even more unique exploration of the form.

Whether you've been assigned to write an ode as a classroom project, or you're simply looking to expand your poetic horizons, read on for instructions on how to write an ode.

Ode Writing Tips

Choose your subject.
Choose the style of ode you'd like to write.
Follow the required format for your ode.
Proofread and edit.
Workshop with other poets.
Share your ode with an audience.

</note>

by Jenny Hudock

The Classic Ode

(Creative Commons photo by jay galvin)

The Classic Ode, also known as the Pindaric Ode, is made up of three ten line stanzas:eHow.com: How to Write an Ode

The Strophe: A Greek concept, the strophe means to turn, often from one foot or side to the other. In an ode, it is chanted by one side of the chorus as they move from west to east across the stage.Wikipedia: Strophe
The Antistrophe: Just as it sounds, the antistrophe is the point in an ode when the other side of the chorus turns back returning to west from the east.Wikipedia: Antistrophe
The Epode: With a resonance of completion, the epode brings the two parts of the chorus together to end the the stanza.Wikipedia: Epode

In some cases, instead of dividing the choruses into two, the strophe and antistrophe would be defined by the east to west and then west to east movement across the stage. The epode would then be delivered while the chorus stood still.The Nellens: Ode

While writing a classic ode, you may have no plans of putting on a big production involving a moving chorus, but you'll still want to write the parts as though they were designed for one. Keep in mind that most classic odes are written to praise something more public, like a sports hero, a major event or a beautiful city.

You can get an idea of how this type of ode looks by checking out the first three stanzas of Thomas Gray's "The Progress of Poesy."Bartleby.com: "The Progress of Poesy" Note the formal, public tone of each stanza.

The Strophe
AWAKE, Aeolian lyre, awake,
And give to rapture all thy trembling strings.
From Helicon's harmonious springs
A thousand rills their mazy progress take:
The laughing flowers that round them blow.
Drink life and fragrance as they flow.
Now the rich stream of Music winds along
Deep, majestic, smooth, and strong,
Through verdant vales, and Ceres' golden reign;
Now rolling down the steep amain
Headlong, impetuous, see it pour:
The rocks and nodding groves re-bellow to the roar.

The Antistrophe
O Sovereign of the willing soul,
Parent of sweet and solemn-breathing airs,
Enchanting shell! the sullen Cares
And frantic Passions hear thy soft control.
On Thracia's hills the Lord of War
Has curb'd the fury of his car
And dropt his thirsty lance at thy command.
Perching on the sceptred hand
Of Jove, thy magic lulls the feather'd king
With ruffled plumes, and flagging wing:
Quench'd in dark clouds of slumber lie
The terror of his beak, and lightnings of his eye.

The Epode
Thee the voice, the dance, obey
Temper'd to thy warbled lay.
O'er Idalia's velvet-green
The rosy-crownéd Loves are seen
On Cytherea's day,
With antic Sport, and blue-eyed Pleasures,
Frisking light in frolic measures;
Now pursuing, now retreating,
Now in circling troops they meet:
To brisk notes in cadence beating
Glance their many-twinkling feet.
Slow melting strains their Queen's approach declare:
Where'er she turns, the Graces homage pay:
With arms sublime that float upon the air
In gliding state she wins her easy way:
O'er her warm cheek and rising bosom move
The bloom of young Desire and purple light of Love.

Note that while many of the lines in this poem follow a rhyme pattern, it is not as important to the Pindaric Ode as it is to later reconstructions of the form.

The English Ode

(Creative Commons photo by Petra & Wilfried)

The English Ode, also called the Homostrophic or Horatian Ode, is slightly more structured.pipTalk Forums: So You Want to Write an Ode Traditionally, the poet chooses the number of lines, the rhyme pattern and meter, but many stick to the following conventions:The Nellens: Ode

Ten lines per stanzaeHow.com: How to Write an Ode
Rhyme pattern ABABCDECDEeHow.com: How to Write an Ode
- Each new stanza in the ode brings new rhymes that follow the same pattern, for example the A-rhymes in stanza one might be "ball and call" while the A-rhyme in stanza two could be ring and thing.
Iambic pentameter rhythmeHow.com: How to Write an Ode
- This means that there will be ten beats per line following a stress pattern like daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM.
More personalized subject matter, like emotions, thoughts and feelingspipTalk Forums: So You Want to Write an Ode

The first stanza of John Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" puts these conventions into practice and shatters them to bits in an exercise of poetic license.Wikisource: Ode to a Nightingale I have denoted the rhythm pattern by marking the stressed syllables in bold and all caps so it's easier to follow.

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 thy HAPpy LOT, (C)
But BEing TOO hapPY in THINE hapPIness,— (D)
That THOU', light-WINGed DRYad OF the TREES, (E)
In SOME melOdiOUS plot (C)
Of BEECHen GREEN, and SHADows NUMBerLESSll, (D)
SingEST of SUMmer IN full-THROATed EASE. (E)

The Irregular Ode

(Creative Commons photo by Pedro Simões)

The Irregular Ode, known also as the Cowleyan Ode, returns to visit the traditional themes of the Classic Ode.The Nellens: Ode This was the ode most often written during the Romantic Era. Some believe that it was created by accident, when the rules of the Classic Ode were misinterpreted.pipTalk Forums: So You Want to Write an Ode

Rhyme and meter are still used, but in a much more relaxed fashion
Line length and stanza structure are disjointedpipTalk Forums: So You Want to Write an Ode

Let's have a look at the first stanza of William Wordsworth's "Imitations of Immortality."Bartleby.com: Intimations of Immortality Note how the rhyme pattern maintains an extra A rhyme, then shifts to C. There are two D rhymes in a row, and then back to C. The meter also varies line by line. I have depicted the stressed syllables in bold capitals.

There "WAS' a TIME when MEADow, GROVE, and STREM, (A)
The EARTH, and EVerY comMON sight, (B)
To ME did SEEM (A)
ApPARell'D in CELesTIal LIGHT, (B)
The GLOry AND the FRESHness OF a DREAM. (A)
It IS' not NOW as IT hath BEEN of YORE;— (C)
Turn WHEREsoe'er I may, (D)
By NIGHT or DAY, (D)
The THINGS which I have SEEN I NOW can SEE no MORE. (C)

The Romantic Ode

Romantic poets were often skilled in several forms of ancient poetry and could write in that language as well. This stage of poets were some of the earliest to exercise that famous writing rule: "Once you know the rules, you can break them" usually to your advantage as a poet.

The Romantic Ode often followed the Irregular Ode's structure and the Homostrophic Ode's meditative quality. There are three major rules that appear in nearly all Romantic Odes.CUNY Brooklyn: The Meditative Romantic Ode

The use or appearance of natureCUNY Brooklyn: The Meditative Romantic Ode
A meditative state that focuses on a particular internal issueCUNY Brooklyn: The Meditative Romantic Ode
A resolution, which occurs as a vision, a decision or an action that returns the speaker of the poem back to the original scene in natureCUNY Brooklyn: The Meditative Romantic Ode

The Writing Process

(Creative Commons photo by Fabio)

As with all types of poetry, there are a few things you can do to help you get started with the writing process:

Take some time to study the different types of odes.
Brainstorm a subject.
1. Write about anything you want to celebrate. It could be a family member or sports star you idolize, or even a paper-clip that organized a stack of important papers.pipTalk Forums: So You Want to Write an Ode
2. Pablo Neruda often wrote odes in praise of mundane, everyday objects.Write Now: Poetry: Odes
3. You may want to choose something you're incredibly passionate about so you put as much emotion into it as possible.eHow.com: How to Write an Ode
Choose an ode format that you feel will best suit your subject.
Don't be afraid to personify inanimate objects.Bartleby.com: Intimations of Immortality
Count out any planned meter by drumming out the beats on your desktop.
Use a rhyming dictionary to help you find the best rhymes for your ode.eHow.com: How to Write an Ode
Get creative, especially if your subject matter is on the more unique side.
Be sure to proofread your finished product.
Reading the poem aloud to yourself will help you hear phrases or words that sound awkward.
Workshop with friends or classmates and be open-minded about any feedback they offer.

Conclusion

With several different styles to choose from, don't be surprised if after completing one successfully, you come back to try the next form and the next until you master the ode. Many poets today look down on poetry that relies on meter, rhyme or any other kind of structure, but digging into the history of poetry and exploring its roots through poetic forms like the ode will make you stronger and more versatile as a poet. As with all poetry, it begs to be shared with an audience. Don't be afraid to get up at the next poetry reading's open-mike night to share your ode.

References for How to Write an Ode Poem