How to Write a Good Ode Poem
Woo the object of your desire with a well-written ode poem. Ode or lyric poems are written in appraisal of people, the arts, nature, or anything the poet desires. The traditional ode is written in irregular meter, with no set stanza requirement or rhyme scheme. Incorporate the styles and elements of a traditional ode in order to write a good and effective ode poem.
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Instructions
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Select a subject you personally feel strongly about, such as a love interest, cherished pet or your favorite location. You must be passionate about your subject or it will not come across well in your ode.
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Write notes for your own reference about how your subject makes you feel and why, then explain the unique qualities of your subject.
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Use your notes to create phrases for your ode. Your ode may follow any form and rhyme scheme you desire, but the key to a good ode is consistency. For example, your lines should rhyme with at least one other line per stanza.
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Write approximately four to five stanzas for a good ode. Exceedingly short odes are rare. A good ode must pay proper tribute to your subject.
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Include the elements of a traditional ode. Describe a natural scene in the beginning of the ode poem, focus on a private or universal problem in the main body, and include an insight, resolution or vision in conclusion.
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Write multiple drafts. In order to write a good ode poem, you will need to edit and revise. Have others read your poem and provide constructive feedback, such as a professor, parent or peer. Revise as needed.
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Familiarize yourself with odes such as Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind" or Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Dejection: An Ode." Reading odes may inspire you to attempt an ode in the style of one of the great ode writers.
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