An ode is a formal lyric poem that is written in celebration or dedication. Usually, this “something” is ephemeral, such as love, beauty, or music. Unlike other forms of poetry, the ode does not have a strict line or stanza requirement. The word “ode” comes from the Greek word “aided,” meaning to sing. There are three kinds of an ode, The Pindaric ode, the Horatian ode, and the Irregular ode.
Immortality ode as an ode
Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood by William Wordsworth (1770-1850) is a 206-line poem that is split into eleven stanzas of varying lengths. There is no single rhyme scheme, but there are individual patterns of rhyme in each stanza.
Ode intimations of immortality are out and out an ode. Because it fulfills the conditions of an ode perfectly.
Addressing someone or something: An ode addresses someone or something. Immortality ode of Wordsworth addresses childhood.
Idealistic subject matter: An ode has idealistic subject matter. Wordsworth in his immortality ode idealizes childhood. According to him, childhood is the most glorious existence of humans on earth.
Immortality ode is an Irregular ode: Immortality ode is an Irregular ode. Because it doesn’t have a similar meter and stanza. The length of the stanza varies from 9 to 38 lines and is written in iambic meter.
Deals with Sad theme: An ode mainly deals with sad and melancholic themes. The sad theme of the immortality ode is the loss of childhood. It means the loss of heavenly pleasure with the passage of childhood. Ends with consolation: An ode generally ends with consolation. The immortality ode also ends with consolation. Here the poet gained a spiritual connection with nature though he lost his childhood. The compensation, the immortality ode is idealized by Wordsworth.
