Summer workshop with YWP Intern Sam Aikman

What is ode poetry?

An ode is a poem that celebrates or addresses a certain person, place, event, or thing. According to the Poetry Archive, odes are a type of lyric poem, meaning they have a song-like rhythm and focus on the emotions or feelings of the speaker. Ode poetry is very old, originally dating back to Ancient Greece, where odes had three stanzas which were chanted in performance to an audience. There are a few different types of odes, usually named after the authors who first developed the form: the Horatian ode, the Pindaric ode, and the Cowleyan ode. Odes can also be more free-form or irregular, as many modern odes often are; the most important thing is that they celebrate a certain subject. 

Read more about odes on the Poetry Archive or on Poetry Foundation. 

Read more about lyric poems on poets.org.

Why write odes? 

Odes are a fun way to focus on and appreciate a certain place, person, or object that’s important to you. I enjoy writing odes that are more free-form with lyrical language. However, writing an ode that fits within a certain format (like the three examples above) can also be a nice challenge and a good way to practice using synonyms and rhythms. 

If you would like to write an ode that follows a certain form you can read more about how to do that here. 

What are some examples?

• Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats*
• Ode to Autocorrect by Martha Silano (click on “view audio transcript” to read)
• Ode to Kool-Aid by Marcus Jackson
• Nevertheless: An Ecstatic Ode by Airea D. Matthews 
• To the Fig Tree on Koloĉep Island by Samantha Aikman
• Browse more examples of odes here on poets.org

*If you would like to hear a reading of this ode and enjoy historical movies, I recommend checking out the film “Bright Star.” It includes many of Keats’ beautiful poems. 

Things to try: 

• Pick one of your favorite foods or drinks! Write an ode about it. 
• Is there someone in your life who you’ve appreciated a little extra recently? Write an ode for them. 
• Pick one of the examples above and write your own ode inspired by it. Consider rhythm, subject, and word choice in the original poem. Don’t forget to credit the author of your inspiration!
• Do you have a favorite place you’ve explored or spent time this summer? A walking trail, a room in your house, or a new city, for example. Write an ode about this place. 
• Feeling stuck? Try writing a list of all the details you can recall about your subject. Then, craft your ode using this list of details. If you want an extra challenge use every detail at least once in your poem. 

Header image: Fig Tree, Koloĉep Island. Photo by Sam Aikman, YWP Intern

Workshop created by Sam Aikman, YWP Intern

Other online workshops by Sam:

Ekphrastic Poetry

PROSE POETRY