How to Write an Ode

An Ode is a lyrical verse, having strong Greek origins, and structured in three main parts: the strophe, the antistrophe and the epode. If you are seriously considering to learn how to write Odes, you can start by trying to divide your theme into these three parts. During the Classical era in Greece, the Ode was sung by a chorus of singers who moved from one part of the stage to the other. So, as the chorus would first begin to move from one side of the stage, they would sing the strophet. The antistrophe would then be sung as a response to the strophe as the chorus would return to their starting point on the stage. The epode would then follow the first two parts as the Ode would reach its climax.

The Ode can consist of any number of stanzas. However, each stanza should consist of ten lines. Each stanza should also have its own unique rhyming pattern, which should not be repeated in the other stanzas. For example, if the first rhymes rhymes with a ababcdcde pattern, you should not allow the ending word in line a to rhyme coincidentally in any other line of a different stanza. If you have two rhyming words like 'board' and 'chord', you must avoid having such a rhyming pair in another stanza with a pair of words like 'sword' and 'bored', for instance. When learning how to write Odes, you must also pay attention to the rhythm in your stanzas. The rhythmic pattern should either be iambit trimeter or iambic dimeter. You can switch between both patterns so as to create the necessary variety between the various stanzas of the Ode, because the reader's attention is best kept by means of diversity in rhythm.

Some of the most famous poets and writers in English literature have produced Odes, some examples being William Wordworth, John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Here is an example from Keats, Ode of the Grecian Urn: http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/odeonagrecianurn.html

And another one from Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to The West Wind: http://www.bartleby.com/101/610.html

If you consider the last ode, you will see that the rhyming scheme is different. It is like this: ababcbcdcdededd. You can also follow this pattern when trying to write Odes, but it is a bit more complicated as compared to the above-mentioned patters. But as long as you keep the iambus is your pattern, the idea of the Ode will be preserved.

The Ode is almost always written in praise of its subject. It should either address the reader or a particular person. It can also address a group or community which is concerned by the topic of the Ode. Moreover, the Ode always addresses a real event or issue and consists of strong words that build up the overall feeling of greatness and praise.