What is an “Ode” in Poetry? (And How to Write Your Own!)

We often think of “odes” as ancient celebrations in archaic languages, the kind we might have studied in English class. But did you know odes are still being written today?

Far from being dull and obsolete, an ode is a great way to express reverence and passion for a subject—be it a person, place, or special personal item. They can be structured, or written in free verse. They can be serious or silly. And they’re a great writing exercise to help sharpen your language skills and inspire new ideas.

We’ll guide you through everything you need to know about this timeless poetic form, including different types of odes, how they compare to other poetic styles, and how to get started writing your own.

What is an ode poem?

An ode is a complimentary lyric poem that directly addresses someone or something else. The subject of an ode could be a person, place, inanimate object, event, and more. While traditional odes were formal and full of praise, odes today often combine insight with humor. “Ode to a Grecian Urn”, by John Keats, is a famous example of this type of poem.

The word ‘ode’ comes from the Greek word aeidein, which means to sing or to chant. This is because Greek plays would often feature a chorus singing part of the ode in a “call and response” structure (more on this below!).

An ode can take a lot of different forms, but its defining feature is that it always celebrates something—whether that’s a beautiful piece of art, a childhood home, or the miracles of shea butter.

Ode vs. elegy

Odes and elegies are both expressive types of lyric poetry, but they serve opposite purposes. While an ode is a celebration of something that’s alive or present, an elegy reflects on something that’s gone—usually a person, but sometimes an personal object or place. It’s similar to the closely named eulogy, which is a spoken tribute to a deceased person.

Both poetic forms focus on a specific subject, and the poet’s feelings about that subject. But while an ode is usually joyful and uplifting, an elegy is more somber and mournful.

Ode vs. ekphrasis

Closely related to the ode is ekphrastic poetry, which is a poem (or any art form, really) that’s inspired by another art form. Traditional ekphrasis refers to a poem that describes and elevates a piece of visual art, such as a painting or sculpture. In this way John Keats’ “Ode to a Grecian Urn” is an ode and an ekphrastic poem.

But today, ekphrastic work takes on any number of combinations. It could be a short story inspired by a song, a song inspired by a painting, or a painting inspired by a poem. So while ekphrasis can take any form, and any mood and tone, an ode is always a celebratory poem.

Ode vs. sonnet

The sonnet is another form that’s often confused with an ode, because they’re both commonly addressed to another person. But while ode refers to the content of the poem—in other words, what it’s about—a sonnet is a specific poetic form—in other words, how it’s structured on the page.

Although odes traditionally fell into certain formal structures (we’ll look at those below), they can be written in any form, meter, or rhyme scheme. A sonnet, by contrast, is always exactly fourteen lines, and follows rigid conventions around meter and rhyme. Some odes can also be sonnets at the same time, but not all odes are sonnets and not all sonnets are odes.

Odes are also typically longer than sonnets, and address more elevated topics.

Three types of ode poems

When we talk about “odes in poetry, we’re really talking about three different approaches. We’ll break down the differences so you can choose the one you like best—and impress your friends with your vocabulary while you’re doing it.

1. Pindaric odes

The Pindaric ode is the oldest and most structured ode form. It dates back to ancient Greece, and uses three stanzas: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. Each stanza has a dedicated function within the poem.

The first stanza, the strophe, makes an argument or claim about the subject: this thing or person is like this. The antistrophe makes a counterargument: but wait! They’re actually like this. There’s a sense of call and response between these two contrasting ideas. Then the epode wraps it all up with a neat conclusion.

You’ll often see these odes used as dramatic monologues in ancient Greek stage plays, such as Oedipus Rex. They represent the protagonist trying to navigate an internal conflict. The strophe would often be sun by the chorus, while the antistrophe would be sung by the main character. These poems were also used for public performances to celebrate victories or special events.

William Wordsworth’s “Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood” is a famous example of a this type of ode.

2. Horatian odes

The Horatian ode, named for the Roman poet Horace, is a little less structured than the Pindaric ode. Rather than being designed for a public performance, these poems were more introspective and dealt with themes of love, life, and art. They’re closer to what we would generally recognize as an ode today.

Horatian odes are usually structured in couplets or quatrains—two- or four-line stanza forms—but this can vary. This is a type of “nonce poem”, or a poem in which the writer comes up with a poetic form as an exercise. So you might say, “I’m going to write an ode that’s twenty lines long, with four five-line stanzas, in iambic pentameter.” Then, that becomes the form of your Horatian ode.

These are sometimes called English odes, because they were so popular with the English romantic poets in the 19th century. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind” is a popular example of this type of ode.

3. Irregular odes

Then we have irregular odes, sometimes called contemporary odes. These are usually written in free verse, meaning there isn’t a set form, rhyme scheme, or meter. They can be any length and be written about any subject. But like all odes, it’s directed towards something or someone that’s important to the poet.

This type of ode breaks down formal conventions that used to define these types of poems. Most poets today prefer to write irregular odes, because they offer more creative freedom. But trying a Pindaric or Horatian ode can be a great exercise to stretch your poetic muscles! We’ll look at how to get started further below.

Examples of effective odes

To see how these poetic forms look in practice, here are a few good examples of odes that stand the test of time.

“To Autumn” by John Keats

John Keats was a big fan of the ode tradition. He wrote six of them in 1819, which are collectively known by literature scholars as “the 1819 odes”. “To Autumn”, which was originally titled “Ode to Autumn”, personifies nature as a beautiful woman.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run…

It’s a Horatian ode divided into three equal stanzas, using creative indentation to give it a soft, fluid look on the page. You can read the full poem here.

“Ode to the Confederate Dead” by Allen Tate

Allen Tate’s classic wartime poem “Ode to the Confederate Dead” explores the ravages of war. It’s set in a cemetery where headstones for soldiers lost in battle are beginning to decay. The poem seems to warn the reader against forgetting the sacrifice of these heroes.

Row after row with strict impunity

The headstones yield their names to the element,

The wind whirrs without recollection;

In the riven troughs the splayed leaves

Pile up, of nature the casual sacrament

To the seasonal eternity of death…

Unlike Keats’s poems, Tate’s ode follows an irregular structure. Several couplets are set apart from the main stanzas, giving those ideas special significance. You can read the full poem here.

“Ode to Autocorrect” by Martha Silano

Here’s something a little different! Martha Silano’s introspective rant at the world today will resonate with many of her contemporary readers. The poem blends humor with serious political discourse, modern and archaic language allowing the “autocorrected” words to reveal a deeper meaning.

Because it changes O’Hare to o hate,

o hate, o hate—over and over, no matter

how many times I retype it. O hate, like

an American tune, an American fable

where, yo, you can enter an o hate

bathroom, take a selfie in the mirror…

Silano’s poem is structured into an even series of tercets, or three-line stanzas. This gives it a tight, cohesive appearance on the page. It acts as an homage to the work of other poets across history. You can read the full poem here.

How to write your own ode poem

Now that you’ve seen the different approaches you can take to the ode form, it’s time to write your own! This is a great exercise for playing with form, imagery, and language. Let’s get started.

Choose a subject

As we’ve seen, an ode is always about something special. It could be an ode to friendship, a favorite place, a piece of music, or anything else that’s close to your heart. Or, like Martha Silano’s poem, it could be something you have a love-hate relationship with.

You might find it helpful to brainstorm a list of ideas, and then see if there are any connections between them. For example, you might have something like “Ode to the Moonlight Diner”—but what it’s really about is the person you met there. In this way the “Ode to” subject can become a metaphor for something or someone else.

Choose a form

Once you know what you’re going to be writing about, it’s time to choose a form. There’s the Pindaric, Horatian, and irregular, as well as other types of poetry that can be used to shape your ode. You can also combine forms to create something new, such as the call-and-response structure of a Pindaric ode with an irregular stanza form, or a sonnet with the modern language of a contemporary ode.

Think about how long you want your finished poem to be, and how you want it to look on the page. Some of this may change during revision, but it’s still helpful to have an idea of where you’re going. We’ll refine this in the next step.

Write a loose poem map

Have you heard of outlining a novel? Well, now we’re going to outline a poem. This is sometimes called a “poem map”.

Write out each of your stanzas in a bullet point list (for example, Stanzas 1—5), and then a short note about what you’re going to say with that stanza. Try and use concrete details that you can later upcycle into your poem. It might look something like this:

• Stanza 1: The first thing I saw was the lit up “Moonlit Diner” sign.

• Stanza 2: The red vinyl booths made me feel like I was in a movie.

• Stanza 3: All the tables were full, so you offered to share yours.

• Stanza 4: We drank milkshakes and talked about our childhoods.

• Stanza 5: I still have the napkin with your phone number on it.

Remember, you’re not “Writing a Poem” yet—just jotting down ideas. So don’t worry about getting it perfect! Try to give your map a sense of momentum. In the example above, every stanza feels like it’s moving the story forward.

Start writing!

Now it’s time to write your rough draft. Take the notes you used for your outline and expand them into more detail. Try to use all the senses and bring the scene to life for the reader.

As you draft, try to stick to your form: a set number of stanzas with an even number of lines, along with any conventions you decided to explore in this exercise. If one of your stanzas is a bit too long or too short, don’t panic; set it aside, and keep going. You can come back and fix it later.

Many poets find it easier to overwrite and trim, rather than underwrite and expand. This means including lots of detail in the rough draft, then distilling it to its core images during revision. But you can also experiment with the opposite approach—writing sparsely to get it all down on paper, then fleshing it out with more detail later. The only right way is the way that works for you.

Revise, revise, revise

Fact: all great poems are products of great revision. Your rough draft is a pile of raw material for you to shape and refine into something beautiful.

After you write your rough draft, take a break and come back to your poem with fresh eyes. This is where you’ll cut out any unnecessary words, enhance form and metre, substitute inadvertent clichés with fresh imagery, and experiment with how the poem is laid out on the page. Ensure your finished poem is clear, original, and vibrant.

Then, all that’s left is to send your masterpiece out into the world.

Follow in the footsteps of greats with your own ode poem

Odes may have a formal, old-timey feel to them, but they can actually be quite relevant and fun. A well-written ode can elevate the minutiae of daily life into something magical.

So next time you’re looking for inspiration, why not brainstorm a list of “Ode to” titles? They can be silly, serious, or anywhere in between. Then, choose your favorite and start flexing those creative muscles. Happy writing!