Ode on Solitude - Alexander Pope

 

Ode on Solitude - Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope is one of the best known writers of the seventeenth century. He wrote Ode on Solitude in 1700, at the age of twelve. It is a beautiful and peaceful poem. The poet emphasizes how solitude is another important part of the equation. It asserts the poet’s desire to live a good, simple life and go unnoticed by the world.

In the first stanza of the poem, the poet speaks of a man with simple dreams, only living off his own land, which is also the land of his fathers. In the second stanza, his desires are further explained, as he wants to farm and live off his land, being completely self-sufficient. The third stanza states how this way of life is good because time has no meaning, one is healthy, has few worries, and lives quiet days. In the fourth stanza, recreation and innocence are revealed to be the results of this lifestyle. In the fifth and final stanza, it is revealed that the poet is the man in the poem, and he wishes to be left alone, unknown from the world.

According to the poet, a man can be truly happy if he leads a life of contentment and simplicity. He should not be greedy. He should be satisfied with the few acres of land inherited from his ancestors. His field will give him food and his cow will give him milk. His trees will give him shade and firewood and his sheep will give him the wool for clothing. He will have a healthy body and peace of mind, spending his time in study, rest and recreation. He will lead an innocent life and a life of meditation and prayer.

The poet considered this man blessed! Time almost doesn’t have meaning for this man; his world provides for all of his needs. Hours go by, days go by, years go by, and everything remains the same. The health the man is in at the beginning of this cycle is the health he remains in when it is finished. Peace of mind is normal for him — what is there to trouble him? It seems as though, in a world of peace and quiet, there is absolutely nothing that could disrupt the life of this farmer, and the poet sees that as a high blessing.

He concludes the poem by asking that he live “unseen, unknown” and die away from the world where no one can find him. It’s this kind of life, without exterior pressures or an image to maintain that appeals to him.