Poetry: Ode [Pindaric, Horatian, English], Elegy, Pastoral, Allied Paper II: BACKGROUND TO ENGLISH LITERATURE-II, B.A English Literature, 1st Year, 2nd Semester

 B.A English Literature Elegy, Pastoral

 [1^st Year, 2^nd Semester] 

Allied Paper II: BACKGROUND TO ENGLISH LITERATURE-II

UNIT 1:

I. Literary Forms

1.1 Poetry: Ode [Pindaric, Horatian, English], Elegy, Pastoral

Poetry

Poetry, Prose and Drama are the three major forms of literature. Poetry, is perhaps, the oldest literary form. The true content of poetry is imaginative and emotional. It is a kind of rhythmic compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to readers' emotions and imaginations.

The Ode:

        An ode is a type of lyrical stanza. It is an elaborately structured poem praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally.

A classic ode is structured in three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. repeated as a unit. In modern usage, the term strophe can refer to any group of verses that form a distinct unit within a poem. The antistrophe. The second section of an ode is structured the same way as the strophe, but typically offers a thematic counterbalance. The epode. This section or stanza typically has a distinct meter and length from the strophe and antistrophe, and serves to summarize or conclude the ideas of the ode.

     The Greek word 'Ode' means a song. It originated in Greece. The ode is a special kind of lyric, more dignified, stately and elaborate than the simple lyric. Greek odes were originally poetic pieces performed with musical accompaniment.

 There are three typical forms of odes: the Pindaric, Horatian, and irregular.

 The Greek poet Pindar was the first to write odes and then followed by the Roman poet Horace. An English ode may be defined as a "Lyric Poem of elaborate metrical (the rhythm) structure, solemn in tone and usually taking the form of address very often to some abstraction or quality." It is in the form of an address. The metrical pattern may be regular or irregular. 

Pindaric Ode:

Pindaric odes are named for the ancient Greek poet Pindar, who lived during the 5th century BC and is often credited with creating the ode poetic form. A Pindaric ode consists of a strophe, an antistrophe that is melodically harmonious, and an epode. Pindaric poems are also characterized by irregular line lengths and rhyme schemes.

Horatian ode:

Horatian ode named after Roman poet Horace, who lived during the 1st century, the Horatian ode consists of two- or four-line stanzas that share the same meter, rhyme scheme, and length. Unlike the more formal Pindaric ode, the Horatian ode traditionally explores intimate scenes of daily life. Horatian odes were revived during the Renaissance, but were not meant for public performances: they are more often intimate reflections on friendship, love, and poetry itself.

Irregular ode:

Irregular odes follow neither the Pindaric form nor the Horatian form. Irregular odes typically include rhyme, as well as irregular verse structure and stanza patterns. Irregular odes also known as the Cowleyan ode, after English poet Abraham Cowley, the irregular ode relaxes the structure of the ode poem even further. American poet Allen Tate’s “Ode to the Confederate Dead,” written in 1928, is an example of an irregular ode.

Elegy:

       An elegy is a poem that reflects upon death or loss. Traditionally, it contains themes of mourning, loss, and reflection. However, it can also explore themes of redemption and consolation.

Elegies are defined by their subject matter, and don't have to follow any specific form in terms of meter, rhyme, or structure. Early elegiac poetry was typically versed in couplets.

        The word elegy originated from the Greek word 'elegeia,' which means to lament or to be sorrowful. In Greek and Roman literature, any poem which was written in elegiac meter, meant irregular hexameter and pentameter lines was denoted by the term 'elegy’. However, it was also referred to as the subject matter of conversion and loss regularly articulated in the elegiac stanza form, particularly in themes of love. With this concept in mind, there are certain poems which are referred to as 'elegies such as The Wanderer and The Seafarer.

Three elements are found in a traditional elegy:

Firstly, it begins with mourn, a grief at the loss of something or someone. In the second stage, the poet shows admiration, listing qualities & impressive deeds in the person’s lifetime. The poem then moves to the third stage of consolidation. This last element may be more religious.

Some additional key details about elegies:

Because elegies focus on the emotional experience of the poet, they are generally written in the first person.

Typically, elegies end on a somewhat hopeful note, with the poet reconciling him- or herself to the death, and ultimately discovering some form of consolation.

The poetic form known as the "elegiac stanza," which has a specific meter and rhyme scheme, is different from an elegy.

Famous Elegy Poets:

Some of the famous poets who have written elegies are as follows:

John Donne, “The Flea” (published posthumously in 1633)

John Milton, “Lycidas” (1637)

Thomas Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” (1751)

Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Adonaïs: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats” (1821)

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “In Memoriam” (1850).

Pastoral Elegy:

The pastoral elegy is a special kind of elegy. The words ‘pastoral’ comes from the Greek word “pastor”, which means “to graze”.

Pastoral elegy is a poem which dwells upon the combined subject of death and sublime country life. This form of poetry usually includes shepherds who express their emotions. The pastoral elegy takes the pastoral or rural components and connects them to expression of sorrow on a loss. Hence pastoral elegy is an elegy in which the poet represents himself as a shepherd mourning the death of a fellow shepherd. The form arose among the ancient Greeks, and Theocritus, Bions and Moschus were its most noted practitioners. In ancient Rome, it was used by the Latin poet Virgil. In England, countless pastoral elegies have been written down from the Renaissance (16^th century) to the present day.

Examples of Pastoral Elegy:

Spenser’s Astrophel (1595), Milton’s Lycidas (1638), Shelley’s Adonais (1821) and Arnold’s Thyrsis (1866) and Scholar Gipsy (1853), are the most notable examples of pastoral elegy.