Odes.notebook
September 12, 2012
Mar 23­12:23 PM
"Ode" comes from the Greek word "aeidein" which
means to sing or
chant and belongs to a long, varied tradition of lyric
poetry.
Ode is an elaborated lyric poem praising or glorifying a
person, or describing nature realistically rather than
emotionally. Such odes were sung and performed to the
tune of musical instruments.
Mar 23­1:06 PM
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Odes.notebook
September 12, 2012
Three Types of Odes­ one of them is the Pindaric Ode
The Pindaric Ode is named after Pindar. Pindar was an Ancient Greek poet. These odes were performed with dancers and a chorus and sometimes celebrated the Olympic games.
They consisted of three sections each containing quatrains, with irregular line lengths and rhyme patterns.
Sep 9­5:39 PM
Ode on a Grecian Urn
by John Keats
(2 of 4 stanzas)
THOU still unravish’d bride of quietness, Thou foster­child of silence and slow time, Sylvan historian, who canst thus express A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme: What leaf­fring’d legend haunts about thy shape 5 Of deities or mortals, or of both, In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy? 10 Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on; Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d, Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone: Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave 15 Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare; Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss, Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve; She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair! 20 Mar 23­1:09 PM
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Odes.notebook
September 12, 2012
Another famous ode is "Ode to Joy" by Beethoven.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wod­MudLNPA
Mar 23­2:03 PM
Odes were later used by the
Romantic poets to convey strong
emotions. Now, we often use odes to
address or honor an event, person,
thing or concept. We use them to
praise the "ordinary."
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Odes.notebook
September 12, 2012
Let's read two odes by Gary
Soto -- "Ode to Mi Gato"
and "Ode to La Tortilla."
As we read, look for sound
devices and figurative language.
Also notice what form he uses.
porque= because gato= cat
huevos= eggs
Ode to Mi Gato
by Gary Soto
Lick chunks of
Him from a dog,
Cheese from my palms,
Because I dressed him
And cooked huevo
In a hat and a cape
After huevo
For Halloween,
Until his purring
Because I dangled
Engine kicked in
A sock of chicken skin
And he cuddled
As he stood on his
Up to my father’s slippers.
Hind legs. I love mi gato,
That was last year.
Its warmth like a hand.
Porque I found
This spring, He’s excellent at sleeping
He loves tuna cans
Him on the fender
And milk cartons
Of an abandoned car.
With their dribble
He was a kitten,
Of milk. He loves
With a meow
Mom when she rattles
Like the rusty latch
The bag of cat food,
On a gate. I carried
The brown nuggets
Him home in the loop
Raining into his bowl.
Of my arms.
And my cat loves
I poured milk
His love and
Me, because I saved
Into him, let him
He laps up his welcome.
He’s white
As spilled milk,
My cat who sleeps
With his belly
Turned toward
The summer sky.
He loves the sun,
And no good
At hunting. At night
All the other cats
In the neighborhood
Can see him slink
Around the corner,
Or jump from the tree
Like a splash of
Milk. We lap up
Sep 10­11:19 AM
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Odes.notebook
September 12, 2012
Mamá is rolling
Slowly down my arm
Them out. The radio
When I eat on the front lawn.
On the window sings,
The sparrow will drop
They are flutes
El cielo es azul . . .
Like fruit
When rolled, butter
I look in the black pan:
From the tree
Dripping down my elbow
The face of the tortilla
To stare at me
As I stand on the
With a bubble of air
With his glassy eyes.
Front lawn, just eating,
Rising. Mamá
I will rip a piece
Just watching a sparrow
Tells me to turn
For him. He will jump
Hop on the lawn,
It over, and when
On his food
His breakfast of worms
I do, carefully,
Beneath the green, green lawn,
It's blistered brown.
worms and a rip of
I count to ten,
Tortilla I throw
Uno, dos, tres . . .
At his thorny feet.
And then snap it out
I eat my tortilla,
Of the pan. the tortilla
Breathe in, breathe out,
Dances in my hands
And return inside,
As I carry it
wiping my oily hands
To the drainboard,
On my knee­scrubbed jeans.
Where I smear it
The tortillas are still warm
With butter,
In a dish towel,
The yellow ribbon of butter
Warm as gloves just Taken off, finger by finger.
That will drip
Ode to La Tortilla by Gary Soto
And gargle it down,
Chirp once and fly
Back into the wintry tree.
Sep 10­11:23 AM
Assignment
*You are to write an ode. Remember odes honor or speak
about/to something "ordinary." In this assignment, we will
all write about America, the military fighting to protect our
country and help others, or the lost lives in the 9/11
expolsions.
Mar 23­2:00 PM
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Odes.notebook
September 12, 2012
*Your ode should be illustrated in some way.
*Your ode must be at least 14 lines long and have at least 2
stanzas (but can be more).
*You must include at least 2 types of figurative language
(simile, personification, hyperbole, etc.) in your ode.
*You must include at least 3 sound devices (repetition,
alliteration or onomatopeia) in your ode.
Let's brainstorm some adjectives, similes,
metaphors or other phrases that we think of
when we think of America, freedom or soldiers.
Sep 10­11:16 AM
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