ode on melancholy (283) Flashcards
impact of being an ode
the ode is a short ode (only 3 stanzas instead of 5)
not rigid and concise
semantic field of dangerous natural poisons
“wolfsbane” “nightshade” “yew-berries”
reflects the power of nature; the juxtaposition of the beauty and the danger
duality of nature as well duality of life (happiness and melancholy)
“grape of proserpine”
persephone; found love in the worst circumstances (hades in underworld all awful) her mothers pain of her absence caused winter
even after all of the suffering; she eventually found peace and happiness
reason for winter and summer (suffering is needed to experience the highs of summer)
“mournful psyche”
personification; duality of melancholy and joy
“shade will come”
“will” reflects the inevitable; we are all going to die out there is no reason to go seek it out and let melancholy win
but “shade will” reflects the darkness and melancholy will come as one of those inevitabilities of life we cant ignore; but like darkness of the night, the darkness of melancholy is temporary
anaphora of “or”
reflects the unpredictabilities of life and the many directions it can go if you dont let melancholy control you
reminder of the joys of life
“beauty that must die”
beginning of epode
we are limited by time everything must die; including what makes life beautiful
reflects eventual corruption (melancholy) of humanity; no one can stay happy and content forever without the feeling dulling
“veil’d melancholy”
idea of secrecy as well as marital or religious devotion; deifies the sadness that he experiences
melancholy deified due to its ability to enhance the good in life similarly to faith
“temples of delight”
continues deification of melancholy and the devotion to his emotions
the joy is deified which immortalises it; it can never be lost forever even when melancholy is rampant
