What is ode?

What Does ode Mean

Oda is a Latin word with Greek origin that refers to a poetic composition of the lyrical genre . The ode can be developed in different tones and forms, and deal with matters of any kind. It is usually divided into stanzas or equal parts.

The original odes were sung to the accompaniment of some musical instrument such as the lyre . The odes could be monodies (sung by a single voice) or choral (performed by a group of people ).
We have to underline the fact that the traditional odes are some of those that have had the most weight throughout the history of Literature and have their origin in the figure of the poet Pindar, belonging to Ancient Greece and who is considered the creator of that cited ode.

Those we can establish that they were defined by the fact that they were made up of three clearly differentiated parts: the stanza, the ante-stanza and finally the epode. All these sections being composed of the verses and their corresponding rhymes.
If we refer to the traditional odes (regular rhyme, referring to feelings and expressed from the point of view of the narrator) we find that they can be divided into three clearly differentiated groups: Pindáricas, English and Horacianas.
It is interesting to add, for example, that the so-called Pindáricas, which were those of Ancient Greece, were written mainly with the clear objective of being able to praise certain events and places as well as people. In this way, it was frequent that they were carried out to praise the triumphs of the athletes who participated successfully in the various competitions that were held.
In the case of English odes, we can establish that they, which have a more irregular scheme in terms of rhyme, were created by an author with the clear objective of referring to someone who inspired a specific feeling. And finally there are the aforementioned Horatians that were written to honor or praise a friend.
Despite its thematic variety, the ode usually expresses admiration for something or someone . An ode, therefore, is a poem created with an intention of homage or exaltation . Several Greek poets dedicated odes to gods , athletes, warriors, and heroes; others, on the other hand, preferred to exalt the figure of love and pleasures.
Chilean poet Pablo Neruda is one of the best exponents of the Latin American ode. Neruda wrote odes on spiritual themes (such as joy), but also to pay tribute to different colleagues ( Federico García Lorca , Walt Whitman ) and objects, apparently not very relevant (odes to onion and socks, for example).
The German Friedrich Schiller was the author of "Ode to Joy" ( "An die Freude" in its original language). This poem was the inspiration for Ludwig van Beethoven when composing his Ninth Symphony , also known as Hymn to Joy .

The Ninth Symphony and Schiller's poem have given birth to the European Anthem , postulated by the European Union in 1985 . This work, which includes modifications to the original poem, was performed for the first time on May 29, '85 .