ODE

An ode is a poem that celebrates something. An ode is a poem that celebrates a subject. It has a venerable history, going back to ancient Greece. Odes were quite popular with the English Romantic poets. Among the more famous odes from the period are:

"Ode to a Nightingale" and "Ode to a Grecian Urn" by John Keats

"Dejection: An Ode" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"Ode to the West Wind" and "To a Skylark" by Percy Shelley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's read "Ode to Pablo's Tennis Shoes" by Gary Soto. While reading the ode, decide what is being celebrated by the ode. Also, what do we learn about Pablo? What figurative language did you notice?

 "Ode to Pablo's Tennis Shoes" by Gary Soto

They wait under Pablo's bed,
Rain-beaten, sun-beaten,
A scuff of green
At their tips
From when he fell
 In the school yard.
He fell leaping for a football
That sailed his way.
But Pablo fell and got up,
Green on his shoes,
With the football
Out of reach.

Now it's night.
Pablo is in bed listening
To his mother laughing
to the Mexican novelas on TV.
His shoes, twin pets
That snuggle his toes,
Are under the bed.

He should have bathed,
But he didn't.
(Dirt rolls from his palm,
Blades of grass
Tumble from his hair.)
He wants to be
Like his shoes,
A little dirty
From the road,
A little worn
From racing to the drinking fountain
A hundred times in one day.

It takes water
To make him go,
And his shoes to get him
There. He loves his shoes,
Cloth like a sail,
Rubber like
A lifeboat on rough sea.

Pablo is tired,
Sinking into the mattress.
His eyes sting from
Grass and long words in books.
He needs eight hours
Of sleep
To cool his shoes,
The tongues hanging
Out, exhausted.

Let's practice writing an ode. Follow the guidelines at this site and write an ode to the moon.

Hope you're inspired because now it's time for you to create an original free verse poem that includes the use of onomonopia.

  1. Think of images, descriptive words, and figurative language that best describe your theme.
  2. Jot them down in web form or in a list as you think of them.
  3. Turn your ideas into a paragraph or paragraphs.
  4. Go back and break the paragraph into lines. As you do this, revise the lines until they look, feel, and sound right to you. Draft, revise, and edit.
  5. Now, for the real test, read it ALOUD. Does it really paint a clear picture?
  6. Share your poem with someone else. Listen to his or her critique of your poem. A critique is when someone tells you the strengths and weaknesses of your work. DON'T GET MAD, LISTEN to the suggestions. Revise your work. Remember, the BEST writers are REWRITERS!
  7. Give your poem a title.
  8. Type and choose a font that adds to the look of your poem.
  9. Illustrate your poem.

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