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English Literature / Unit 1   ENL 0031 short lesson, about 20 seconds

The Ode: Pindaric, Horatian, Irregular

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The idea

An ode is a long, formal lyric that praises or reflects on its subject. The Pindaric ode, after the Greek Pindar, moves in three parts: strophe, antistrophe and epode. The Horatian ode repeats one stanza; the irregular ode varies its stanzas freely.

In practice

A formal poem of praise or meditation.

Where people slip

Keats's odes use regular stanzas of his own design.

Your place on the trail

Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.

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