Ode of Solitude - Alexander Pope, (1688 – 1744)
Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.
Whose herds with milk, whose fields
with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him
shade,
In winter fire.
Blest, who can unconcern’dly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day,
Sound sleep by night; study and
ease,
Together mixed; sweet recreation;
And innocence, which most does
please,
With meditation.
Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me dye;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lye.
Questions and Answers
1. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences
each.
a. What would be the possession of the speaker in the poem
as given in the first stanza?
Ans. A few paternal
acres would be the possession of the speaker as given in the first stanza.
b. What are the self-sufficient facilities that the speaker
will have in this native land?
Ans. Cattle to give milk, fields to provide bread, sheep to
offer wool, trees to give shade in summer and fire in winter are the
self-sufficient facilities that the speaker will have in the native land.
c. How can trees help him?
Ans. Trees can help him by offering him shade in summer and
fire-wood in winter.
d. What are the assets that the speaker can rely on in his
new situation?
Ans. The speaker can rely on the land for his food, cattle for
his milk, sheep for his clothes and trees for share and fire in his new
situation.
e. What are the qualities that would please him if he
possessed them?
Ans. The health of body, peace of mind, sound sleep at night,
work and recreation mixed in a balanced way are the qualities that would please
the speaker if he possessed them.
2. Answer the following questions in about 50 words each.
a. What does the poet mean by ‘Thus let me live, unseen,
unknown;/Thus unlamented let me dye…?
The poet means that he wants to live a solitary life. He
wants to work in a few acres of paternal land. He wants to make bread from his
own harvest. He wishes to tend cattle, sheep to fulfill his requirements of milk
and clothes. He sums up his idea of simple and secluded life with these lines.
b. Explain the theme of solitude that the poet expands on in
the poem.
The poet wants to lead a secluded and self-sufficient life
by living in a few acres of ancestral land. He likes to live in his native
place by tending cattle and farming. He wants to spend years softly in good
physical health and mental peace. He
wants to die unnoticed and unlamented. This is the theme of solitude explained
by the poet.
c. Comment on the opening and the closing lines of the poem.
The opening lines of the poem reveal the poet’s idea that the
man who is contented to live in his ancestral land and breathe the native air
is happy. The closing lines express the poet’s wish to leave this world
unnoticed and unlamented. He wants to live an uneventful, secluded life.
d. Examine the poem as an introspective and self-revelatory
one.
Ode to Solitude is written by Alexander Pope. In this poem
the poet examines himself and reveals his ideas about leading a solitary
life. The poem is both introspective and self-revelatory as it explains how the
poet wants to lead a simple, rustic, and satisfactory life without leaving his
native land.
