The ode is an ancient form originally written for musical accompaniment. The word itself is of Greek origin, meaning "sung." While ode-writers from antiquity adhered to rigid patterns of strophe, anti strophe, and epode, the form by Keats's time had undergone enough transformation that it really represented a manner-rather than a set methodfor writing a certain type of lyric poetry. In gen eral, the ode ot the Romantic era is a poem of 30 to 200 lines that meditates progressively upon or directly addresses a single object or condition. In addition to "Ode on a Grecian Urn," Keats wrote odes about the season of autumn and the song of a nightingale as well as about indolence, melancholy, and even the poet John Milton's hair. Keats's odes are characterized by an exalted and highly lyrical tone,.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 399 words. This
study guide contains 15,167 words (approx. 51 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our Ode on a Grecian Urn Access Pass.
