ENG 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Lyric Poetry, Mary Shelley, Negative Capability
Week 3
In seminar sessions. Short answer in response to poems we’ve read in class. Review and read poetry. Understand
concepts. Answer everything. Book has a lot of stuff on poetry in the beginning of each section.
The Ode
• An Ode is another form of a lyric poem. Ode originated from Greece and was used in dramatic poetry. Was
a form of poetry delivered with music and had a chorus of singers. Directed to a single purpose and usually
has one theme. Is quite elaborate. The diction the poet uses is usually dignified. References to nature. Tone
is imaginative and musical. They have a meditative quality.
• There are several kinds of odes. First is the regular ode the “Pedinaric Ode.” Poet named Pindar gave his
name to the Pindarce poem.
• Then we have the irregular ode called the Horatiaon Ode. A form of the ode that is linked back to the poet
Horus. Single stanza form that is repeated. Organized around 3 stanzas. First set is called the Strophey.
Second is called the anti strophey. Third is called the eopt.
• Keats
• The Ode to Nightingale is a Horation Ode which is an English form. Keats is a British romantic poet.
English adapted the Pendaric Ode. Made it something for personal expression because before it was
impersonal.
• Ode to Nightingale presents a problem and the speaker must come to the terms with the issue. The irregular
ode is based on the Pedinaric format but does not conform to a rigid pattern. Keats poem is also an irregular
ode and is a flexible poetic form. In England it is the most popular form of the ode because of that
flexibility. Brought into practice in 1666. Get a sense of calm, restraint, solemnity. In the hands of
contemporary poets they bring irony into the ode.
• Keats however is being serious in his contemplation. Keats isn’t as well known. His work is a product of a
British movement in literature called romanticism. Written in 1798 to 1832. This movement shook of
traditional ideas and restraints and put a new emphasis on the individual. This reaction went into literature,
art, philosophy, politics, etc. He is writing against previous practice. Linked with other writers like
Wordsworth, Mary Shelly, etc. Imagination dominates over reason. The writers of this period relied on
their feelings as a guide to truth. Keats is also writing out of a place of feeling. There is a love of nature that
you see across this movement. There is also an interest in the past. Emphasis on individuality. Is a
favouring of innovation over tradition. His poems would’ve been seen as innovative. Preference for fresher
language and dropped traditional poetic diction. Idealization of the rural life, attached to their value of
nature. Enthusiasm for the natural, and uncivilized. For much of the poem we are in the imaginative world
of the speaker. Interest for human rights, sympathy for animal life. Sentimental melancholy. For the
romantic poets literature is where the great issues of the time can be investigated. It’s true value lies in its
capabilities to reveal the true thoughts and existential questions of the individual. Our ideas of democracy
are linked back to this period and this movement.
• Keats coined the phrase “negative capability.” This is what he strives for in all of his poetry. Uncertain,
doubtful, exploring mysteries. This is a good description of Shakespeare’s work. This is what Keats wants
for himself and looks to great writers as examples. It means you are alert, sympathetic and objective as a
writer. Giving yourself over to the subject. By doing so you are able to articulate the great beauty in ones
work. Suggests an impersonal author. The author does not announce himself.
• Keats has a good reputation. He died very young. Died at 25. Produced some of the greatest poetry. When
he died there was a lament of what could have been. The loss of a young, great, poet. Was sick for much of
his life. Was self aware and a dedicated writer. The sense of life being very short, is reflected in his poems.
Ode to Nightingale
• Was a uniform rhyme scheme. Is a iregular ode. Begins with the pronoun my and the focus moves outward.
The poet is feeling depressed and down. He hears the Nightingale song. Contemplates the meaning of life,
and the meaning of art. He questions if he should wake or sleep. He almost contradicts what he says before
Document Summary
Short answer in response to poems we"ve read in class. Book has a lot of stuff on poetry in the beginning of each section. The ode: an ode is another form of a lyric poem. Ode originated from greece and was used in dramatic poetry. Was a form of poetry delivered with music and had a chorus of singers. Directed to a single purpose and usually has one theme. The diction the poet uses is usually dignified. They have a meditative quality: there are several kinds of odes. First is the regular ode the pedinaric ode. poet named pindar gave his name to the pindarce poem: then we have the irregular ode called the horatiaon ode. A form of the ode that is linked back to the poet. Third is called the eopt: keats, the ode to nightingale is a horation ode which is an english form.
