Ode Analysis

Excerpt from

Ode to a Butterfly

by Sheri Walters

Butterfly, oh butterfly, why do you hide in the shadows?

Spread wide your wings, let your heart sing

And come dance with me in the meadow

Butterfly, oh butterfly, why do you fear?

You'll never stray, I'll lead the way

Just follow the path, I'll be near

Excerpt from

Ode to Bread

by Pablo Neruda

Bread,

you rise

from flour,

water

and fire.

Dense or light,

flattened or round,

you duplicate

the mother’s

rounded womb,

and earth’s

twice-yearly

swelling.

How simple

you are, bread,

and how profound!

…

Excerpt from

Ode to the West Wind

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

1

O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,

Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,

Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou,

Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed

…

ANALYSIS

1. How are these odes similar?

How are they different?

Consider:

a. Who/what is being addressed?

b. How is the subject being described?

c. What kind of vocabulary is used?

d. What figurative language is used?

e. What is the structure?

f. Is there rhyme?

2. How might you define an ode?