Ode on Solitude by Pope

                                             

                                      Ode on Solitude

              

             ‘Ode on Solitude’ is a poem written by Alexander Pope, English poet best known for his satirical verse and translation of  Homer. This poem has written when he was twelve years old, Pope is famous for his use of heroic couplet and this poem is sets in very peaceful mood and relaxed language. Initially in the poem poet talks about ‘Solitude’ which expresses the glory of being alone and   you are happy in lonely life. If we  don’t  love solitude , we don’t love freedom. Only  when we are  alone, we are free. Solitude is painful in youth but delicious in maturity. Solitude is not same as loneliness, it is the solitary boat floating in the sea of possible companions which gives you real sense of your own  self.

         

           In this poem,  poet talks about freedom from all the responsibility and rule of society that a person should be free from all the social norms who is happy in his native land like a farmer.  Pope talks about his lonely life is unfortunate because he has to live away but the poet considered the life of the farmer a fortunate one as he get the chance to breath his native air and he also get the opportunity to live in motherland. In second stanza he emphasis more that a farmer is lucky that he get bread from his own field and when sun annoy him in summer trees are there to provide him ‘shade’. He says that how society interferes in life of a person but when we think out of the society we are in solitude.

        

       By the third stanza poet talks about people who are struggles to find food in modern life while farmers can easily take all the things to drink and eat who doesn’t care about society and live their life as they want. People believe that solitude is a curse but Pope says that is a bliss as its beat stage of life. Such people who live in solitude care about themselves only not for others. He talks about leisure life ‘sound sleep’ of farmers.

                                

                                       “Thus unlamented let me die,

                                         steal from the world and not a stone

                                           Tell where I lie”

    

          In last stanza,  poet wants life and death  which ‘unknown ‘and ‘unseen’ from the society. Poem reflects the real problems of the life of an individual that how society always interfere in their life.