Ode to a Nightingale

Question

In the spring and summer of that year, Keats wrote his most famous short poems, known as odes. They include Ode to a nightgale ...

Hi,
Does "odes" in the above refer to "songs" or "poems" to you? Thanks.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

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Nightingale. An ode is a poetic form; any reasonably literate reader knows that Keats wrote poems-- especially since the word appears in the same sentence.

"Ode: A kind of poem devoted to the praise of a person, animal, or thing. An ode is usually written in an elevated style and often expresses deep feeling. An example is “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” by John Keats."
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Angliholic · Answer

Mister Micawber.
Nightingale. An ode is a poetic form; any reasonably literate reader knows that Keats wrote poems-- especially since the word appears in the same sentence.

"Ode: A kind of poem devoted to the praise of a person, animal, or thing. An ode is usually written in an elevated style and often expresses deep feeling. An example is “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” by John Keats."
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Thanks, Mister.

I'm still confused. My online dictionary says "ode" is synonymous with "song" and "poem," but apparently it's not based on your explanation.

Peaceblinkfriend · Answer

Hi Angliholic

As an English learner myself, I have used a number of dictionaries and I find that those which provide 'simple' definitions like the one you quoted are generally not very helpful to English learners as they don't tend to provide you with the fine distinctions of meaning between similar words. I don't know an awful lot about English but I have noticed, as with any other language I suppose, there are only so many words that are truely synonymous.

I find Merriam Webster's Unabridged/Collegiate Dictionary CD very useful. It's a good investment. It gives distinctions like this:

synonyms WEALTHY, AFFLUENT, OPULENT: applied to persons and to groups, RICH and WEALTHY are often interchangeable in indicating possession of considerable wealth was indeed rich, according to the standards of the Square; nay, wealthy— Arnold Bennett* RICH may occasionally apply to greater possession than WEALTHY *a wealthy but not a rich man— Times Literary Supplement but it is more likely to be used in extended senses than WEALTHY *lived alone, poor in worldly goods to the verge of distress, but rich beyond avarice in his vast and unique collection of snow-crystal pictures— W.J.Humphreys* WEALTHY may suggest along with the fact of ownership its established, accustomed, or lasting enjoyment many of the wealthy supporters of the drama in Providence bought boxes by the season and were served wines and sherbets between the acts— American Guide Series: Rhode Island* AFFLUENT often is interchangeable with WEALTHY but may suggest a comfortably increasing wealth *ride in larger and larger cars so that we may seem more affluent than we actually are— J.D.Adams* OPULENT, applied less often to persons than to things, may suggest extreme wealth attended with lavish, luxuriant, or splendid expenditure *an opulent frock of gold brocade— Jean Stafford* *an opulent blue mink coat— Time* *an opulent and glittering eastern throne— John Buchan

PBF

Mister Micawber · Answer

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Context, context, Angli. Many words have multiple meanings. It is the most basic task of the language learner to sort through those to find what is appropriate to the context. Your context reads: 'Keats wrote his most famous short poems, known as odes.'

My [url=http://www.onelook.com/?w=ode&ls=a]on-line dictionary[/url] runneth over with appropriate definitions:

Compact Oxford (this is its only definition for the word): a poem expressing noble feelings, often addressed to a person or celebrating an event.

Merriam-Webster (this is its only definition for the word): a lyric poem usually marked by exaltation of feeling and style, varying length of line, and complexity of stanza forms.

Cambridge International (this is its only definition for the word) : a poem expressing the writer's thoughts and feelings about a particular person or subject, usually addressed to that person or subject: 'Ode to a Nightingale' and 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' are poems by Keats.
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Ode to a Nightingale

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