Ode On Solitude By Alexander Pope
Summary
‘Ode on Solitude” is a small ode written by Alexander Pope’s. It is considered to have been written possibly in 1700, when Pope was merely twelve years old.
The Poets deepest desire is that he should have a few acres of his own land, where he is happy to live and work. He will be happy to breathe the air of his native land. It means that he is happy with what he has in his native place and he does not wish to have more.
In the second paragraph, the poet simply means that the man is self-sufficient. His land, now shown to be a farm, provides for all of his needs — his herds provide him with milk, he is able to bake his own bread. In the summer, his trees provide ample shade, and in the winter the wood from those same trees can be lit to keep him warm. He does not need anything beyond his own land.
The narrator considered this farmer blessed! Time almost doesn’t have meaning for this man; his world provides for all of his needs. Hours go by, days go by, years go by, and everything remains the same. The health the man is in at the beginning of this cycle is the health he remains in when it is finished. He has peace of mind which is a blessing for him.
The poet says that he sleeps a sound sleep. He is ignorant about the knowledge and competition in the world. It’s a strange idea and casts the character of the farmer in a different light. He does not know about the world. And so he could sleep a sound sleep.
Here the poet wants an unseen life. He wants to live in solitude until he dies. He wants to die unlamented. Not a stone should be carved on his grave so that no one will know where he lies after death. A perfect life of solitude and peace.
Reference To Context
1) Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die.
2) Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire.
Context: As Above
Explanation: His land provides for all of his needs — his herds provide him with milk, he is able to bake his own bread. In the summer, his trees provide ample shade, and in the winter the wood from those same trees can be lit to keep him warm. He does not need anything beyond his own land.
3) Blest, who can unconcernedly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind, Quiet by day.
Context: As Above
Explanation: Third paragraph
Questions and Answers
Q. What is the theme of Ode on Solitude?
Ans. Alexander Pope’s poem “Ode on Solitude” is a small ode that has one central theme: the bliss of solitude. The poem is based on the idea that complete solitude is the only true way to be happy. Mostly people connect it to loneliness, but not to be lonely, but to be happy in the company of our self. In this poem, Pope says that loneliness is the blessed thing of life. The poem talks about the freedom of responsibility for society and social norms. It’s a poem about a happy man who’s happy in his own acre of land. But he says in the quotation that, like a happy man, he wants to remain unseen and unknown to the world.
Q. What type of poem is Ode on Solitude?
Ans. Alexander Pope’s ”Ode on Solitude” is a Horatian ode. Horatian odes are the odes written in the style of the ancient Latin poet, Horace. The odes written by Horace were informal, intimate, calm and contemplative.
Q. Who is a happy man?
Ans- According to the poet, Alexander Pope, a happy man is that who is content to breathe his native air and has his paternal land, eats the things that he gets from his land and animals by serving them. Such a person leads a healthy and peaceful life living at his own place with satisfaction.
Q. Whom does the pronoun ‘his’ in the third line of the first stanza refer to?
Ans- The pronoun ‘his’ in the third line of the first stanza refers to the common people who are content to breathe in the native air.
Q. Who gives him milk?
Ans- The herds of poet’s cattle give him milk.
Q. What gives him bread?
Ans- Poet’s own field gives him bread.
Q. From where does he get his clothes?
Ans- The poet gets his clothes from the wool of his own sheep.
Q. How do trees help him?
Ans- Trees help him by giving him shade in summer.
Q. Name the poem and the poet.
Ans- The name of the poem is ”Ode On Solitude” and Alexander Pope is the poet.
Q. Who is a blessed man?
Ans- A blessed man is one who lives a smooth life without any worry and has a healthy body with peace of mind and enjoys a sound sleep at night.
Q. How does a happy man spend his time?
Ans- A happy man spends his time in study, recreation, meditation and sound sleep at night.
Q. Whom does ‘me’ refer to in the last stanza?
Ans- In the last stanza, the word ‘me’ refers to the poet himself.
Q. What do you mean by ‘slide soft away’?
Ans- In the poem ”Ode on Solitude” the phrase ‘slide soft away’ means to pass along smoothly.
Q. What does the poet wish for after death?
Ans- The poet, Alexander Pope, ”Ode on Solitude” expresses that he wishes an unmourned and quiet death. He does not want any stone mark on his tomb.
Q. How does the poet want to live?
Ans- The poet wants to live a peaceful life on his native land enjoying the beauty of nature.
Q. How does the poet want to die?
Ans- The poet wants an unlamented and quiet death.
Q. What are the features of a happy life?
Ans- A healthy body, peace of mind, satisfaction, sound sleep at night are the features of a happy life.
