What is a Pindaric Ode poem?
A Pindaric Ode is a poem with set meter and rhyme just like all other odes. It is defined by three triads: the strophe and the antistrophe being of the same stanza form and an epode as the final which is different. This form of Ode was named after the writer Pindar.
An example of a Pindaric Ode poem
(Based on an extract from 'The Progress of Poesy' by Thomas Gray)
| Wake up, you little sleep head, awake |
a |
| And give great joy to life that's found in dreams |
b |
| From Nature's most sweet sounding streams |
b |
| |
|
| A thousand turns their twisty journeys take |
a |
| The dancing flowers, that above them blow |
c |
| Breathe life and music as they flow |
c |
| |
|
| Now the vast waves of sound drift along |
d |
| Deep, beautiful, vast and strong |
d |
| Through the fields and vales and valleys they glide |
e |
| And rolling down the mountain side |
e |
| Daring and carefree the water pours |
f |
| From the highest edge they jump and falling, they roar. |
f |
Why don't you try writing a Pindaric Ode poem and enter it into one of our poetry competitions.
For information on poetry types other than a Pindaric Ode poem visit our poetry glossary – poetry types.
