First published in 1974, this book provides a helpful overview to the ode. After introducing the reader to classical odes, it goes on to trace the development of two major types: the Pindaric ode and the Horatian ode. The book concludes with a study of odes from the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries.

This book will be of particular interest to those studying poetry, verse form and literature more generally.

General Editor's Preface; 1. Classical Models 2. Pindaric Odes 3. Horatian Odes 4. Nineteenth-Century Odes 5. Some Twentieth-Century Odes; Select Bibliography; Index