Ode On Solitude Poem Analysis

1732 Words7 Pages

The theme of solitude is evident in the poems: “Hide and Seek”, “War Photographer”, “Half-Past Two”, “The Little Boy Lost”, “Mirage” and “Ode on Solitude”. These six poems all share similarities but still differ from one another. Solitude is explored in “Hide and Seek”, “War Photographer”, “The Little Boy Lost” and “Mirage” similarly as the poets show the negative effects of solitude, while “Half-Past Two” and “Ode on Solitude” focus more on the positive. The poets use various techniques such as diction, tone, form and structure to explore the theme from different perspectives and reveal the positive and negative sides to it.

In “Hide and Seek”, Vernon Scannell writes about a child, who is the speaker of the poem, hiding from his fellow friends and “seekers”. They decide to stay put in their hiding place for an extended period of time, just so they can finally reveal themselves when the other children have given up the search and be declared the winner. However, it turns out that they’ve been abandoned, hence the tone of the …show more content…

As in “Half-Past Two”, the diction is significant and emphasizes the positivity of solitude that the poet is trying to express. The poem focuses on the life of a farmer and Pope uses uniform, simple and relaxed language throughout the poem to stress the regularity of this farmer 's life, making it seem more appealing than reality. There is a regular pattern of rhymes at the end of each line and this creates a cheerful and peaceful mood overall, hence emphasizing the farmer’s contentment. In the line: “Thus let me live, unseen, unknown,” the poet suggests that the farmer has no family and therefore has to make a living on his own. However, it is revealed that the farmer maintains a peaceful and quiet life by being secluded from others, stressing the fact that even in solitude and having no contact with others, he can still live a life of

More about Ode On Solitude Poem Analysis

Open Document