Ode on Solitude - By Alexander Pope

Ode on Solitude

By Alexander Pope

Happy the man, whose wish and care

A few paternal acres bound,

Content to breathe his native air,

In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,

Whose flocks supply him with attire,

Whose trees in summer yield him shade,

In winter fire.

Blest, who can unconcernedly find

Hours, days, and years slide soft away,

In health of body, peace of mind,

Quiet by day,

Sound sleep by night; study and ease,

Together mixed; sweet recreation;

And innocence, which most does please,

With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;

Thus unlamented let me die;

Steal from the world, and not a stone

Tell where I lie.

             Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744) was an 18th-century English poet. He is best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer, and he is also famous for his use of the heroic couplet. He is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare(wiki)

        
          Ode is a lyric poem of some length having on devoted style and formal stanzaic structure. Generally solitude is not considered as a good thing for anyone. The poem 'Ode on Solitude' by Alexander Pope is also about solitude who thinks solitude is not a bad thing but a blessed condition.

   

          The poem talks about freedom as responsibility to the society and social norms in the first stanza. Pope talks about the happiness and joy, tried by a person who is not forced by the rules and regulations of society. He is ambitious of that freedom and peace; this is solitude as a blessing and privilege. The person is not only free from the social shackles but also from himself, especially from the questions which a person has to answer himself.

  

          In the second stanza he talks about the rights of the person. He has no relatives or friends, and whatever that person do, he does not need to think about 'what society thinks'. The person is free and he can get delight from the simple things of life. He does not to be extravagant to be satisfied. The person is happy with simple things, a house, a herd of cows, flock of sheep and trees, he sees as a peasant life and likes to live it. Society does not like these kinds of people, which is unfortunate but to the poet he regards such people as happy than all others. He thinks in a manner that, 'enjoy what we have, without the worry of what society thinks'.

          In the third stanza, the poet has found that only people who live in such life has a true chance to good health and such people can be free from the stress included by the society and the people. No answering to anybody, no nagging from others and no pushing of judgement, to the poet it is blessing to live life without concern of the norms of society and they also do not need a lavish life for their enjoyment.

       The people who are alone they do not need to care about what others think, what others do, what others say, they live their life for themselves only, and therefore they do not care what society is going to say or think.

       In the fourth stanza, it shows clearly that what the poet thinks his life of leisure 'sound sleep' by night, study and ease, together mixed, sweet recreation are most important parts of life. Poet believes that desire for knowledge is good but study without pleasure to achieve excellence is not accepted. People of society are always in the pursuit of education; they want all the knowledge of the world and do not realize that they cannot define happiness by their knowledge. A 'sound sleep' refers to the sleep stages that are associated with less movement. All should have the freedom to have a restful sleep which is not disturbed by worry and tension. The most importantly poet needs all these qualities to live life happily, innocently and with meditation.

       In the final stanza, the poet expresses his longing for such a life, where there is no norms, rules, and values of society, where there is no pressure. The poet wants to live unseen, where people do not know where the poet is and cannot point a finger towards him for doing something, unknown, where people cannot identify him and force him to follow the rules made by them and he wants to die unlamented, which suggests that when he will die, nobody will express grief, because he was unknown and unseen.

      The poet wants to live his life which should not be noticed by society so nobody will come to know about his death. He doesn’t want to allow anyone to know where he is buried, that is why he says,

"and not a stone

Tell where I lie."

            Even after his death he wants to remain unknown and hidden from the society. Poet wants to live alone but his life is not boring but it is the most exciting and peaceful life. One can argue that the poet is escaping from the society, but there is vast difference between escapism and solitude. Escapism is all about not accepting the society and solitude is all about first accept the society, and then when you feel not comfortable then reject it. Society is for human, humans are not for society so the right is of human whether accept it or reject is. Solitude simple can mean that living life for one's own self and without other's interference.

          The simple techniques that the poet uses such as uniform stanza, a simple language makes the poem even more interesting.