In general, odes address a serious subject using a sophisticated stanza pattern and style. Extending over several pages, odes are moderate in length. They typically extol nature, people, abstractions or arts such as music and poetry. Three general elements help readers distinguish odes from other types of poems. First, odes usually have a detailed description of a natural scene. Second, the natural scene provokes some form of meditation that may involve the poet's own thoughts or express more universalism opinions. Third, odes contain a decision, resolution, insight or other idea that connects back to the original natural scene.
Based on the works of Roman lyric poet Horace, Horatian odes are one of the three main types of odes. Horatian odes establish a stanza style in the first stanza and follow it throughout the entire work. They typically are personal, reflective and addressed to a friend of the poet. Common themes discussed in these poems include poetry, love and friendship. Horatian odes are intended to be read privately instead of recited in front of an audience. These tranquil odes often give readers some piece of simple wisdom.
Pindaric odes, named after Greek lyric poet Pindar, traditionally are accompanied by dancers and a chorus. Theses odes originally were composed and performed to celebrate the athletic victories of the Ancient Greeks. The opening of a Pindaric ode is composed using an advanced metrical structure. The middle of the poem mirrors this structure, while the ending changes. The closing section is the longest part of a Pindaric ode.
Irregular odes, sometimes called Cowleyan odes after the 17th-century poet who popularized them, do not follow the formal structure of Horatian and Pindaric odes. Instead, they experiment with various poetic forms while maintaining themes and tones similar to those found in classical odes. The number of lines in each stanza, the meter and rhyme scheme may vary in irregular odes.