Pindaric ode (regular ode)

The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms - Ross Murfin 2018

Pindaric ode (regular ode)

Pindaric ode (regular ode): Named for the fifth-century B.C. Greek poet Pindar, a type of ode that consists of strophes, antistrophes, and epodes, a triadic structure corresponding to the movement of the ancient Greek chorus. The strophes and antistrophes share the same stanzaic form, while the epodes have another. Pindaric odes, rare in English, are typically characterized by a ceremonious or even exalted tone.

EXAMPLE: Thomas Gray’s “The Progress of Poesy” (1757).