25 pages • 50 minutes read
Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood
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Background
Literary Context
The ode, a favorite genre in Romantic poetry, originated in ancient literature, especially in the work of the Greek poet Pindar (circa 552-442 B.C.E.) and the Roman poet Horace (65-8 B.C.E.). Pindaric odes were ceremonious celebrations of public figures—especially victorious athletes. They had a complex, seemingly irregular, structure of lines and stanzas, loosely followed in Wordsworth’s “Ode.” Horatian odes had a more uniform structure and typically more personal and contemplative subject matter. Both traditions influenced the writing of odes in the English language, including those written by Romantic poets. Romantic odes vary in structure and themes, but some of the most famous among them have several features in common with Wordsworth’s “Ode”: emphasis on the beauty and power of nature, both as a general force and in its particular forms; drawing inspiration from nature for serious thoughts on a subject of great personal significance, accompanied by emotions of heightened intensity; and reaching an insight that alleviates the original concern or anxiety that triggered the contemplation. These poems combine vivid description and passionate meditation to powerful effect. (For two more examples of the Romantic ode, see Further Resources.)
Religious Context
Wordsworth’s “Ode” employs explicit religious language and stresses spiritual aspects of life, but the faith it describes is unorthodox. Some 19th century readers objected to the suggestion that a person’s soul existed before one’s birth (Lines 58-66), which is not part of the Christian doctrine. Later in life, Wordsworth insisted he intended these lines merely as a metaphor for the freshness and radiance that everything natural has in the eyes of children—a psychological rather than a religious insight. That raises the question whether all references to god and heaven should be metaphorically considered in Wordsworth’s poetic exploration of mental changes occurring during the transition from childhood to adulthood. Wordsworth was a respectable member of the Anglican church, but his poetry contains elements of pantheism: the belief that god is manifested in the material universe and has no individualized personality outside of nature. There are variations of this view, and Wordsworth never explicitly subscribed to it, but his poems present nature as sacred and develop a transcendental view of nature (for more on that, see Themes.)
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By William Wordsworth
