How to Write an ODE
What is an ode?
1. a lyric poem typically addressed to a
particular subject with lines varying lengths,
rhymes and rhythms.
2. (originally) a poem intended to be sung.
ODE
• An ode is a poem that is about one specific
thing that you think is truly amazing and
praiseworthy. This type of poem can be
centered upon a person, an object, or
something abstract like a feeling or an idea.
Odes originated in Ancient Greece, and what
constitutes a proper ode has changed many
times over the millennia, but one thing that's
stayed constant is the passionate, elaborate
expression of love or admiration.
TIPS FOR WRITING AN ODE POEM
• Think of a teacher that you have connected to
this year.
• Remember, an ode is focused on the many
nuances of a single thing, so make sure that
that whoever you pick is someone that you
feel appreciative about, so you have enough
to write and thank that teacher for.
• Odes are traditionally very long, but yours will
be 14 lines long.
TIPS FOR WRITING AN ODE POEM
• Your poem has to rhyme.
• It has to follow the rhyme patter:
abab, cdcd, efef, gg
• Pre-AP your poem also has to have 10
syllables per line which is called iambic
pentameter. (English 7, if you write yours in
iambic pentameter correctly, you can earn
10 points extra).
• Don't forget that your options for how you might create or
change an ode are pretty infinite. One favorite examples is
this: the poet Friedrich Schiller first published his "Ode to
Joy" in 1766. Composer Ludwig van Beethoven set it to
music in his Ninth Symphony in 1824. Clergyman and
author Henry van Dyke wrote the poem "Joyful, Joyful We
Adore Thee" in 1907 intending for it to be a hymn sung
over the music of Beethoven's Ninth. And in 1993, that
hymn was adapted into a song for a gospel choir and
performed by Lauryn Hill in the movie Sister Act 2: Back in
the Habit. So there you go!