An ode is a short poem or a form of lyrical stanza that glorifies a particular idea, event, or individual due to particular traits, attributes, or features. Thus, ode compositions share similarities in terms of their length and elements applied to achieve a musical lilt. However, they have notable differences and take various complex forms depending on the composers’ preferences and the subjects being addressed. Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats and Ode to the Cheese Fries by Jose Olivarez are examples of odes with a striking appeal and literary techniques that target an audience’s emotions. Both poems share instances of individuals’ internal conflicts with their environments and nostalgic feelings about human life. On that note, the following passages compare and contrast the thematic expressions and literary elements used by these authors to successfully achieve their purpose.
Ode to Cheese Fries is a poem that describes a snack that the narrator enjoyed during his youth and the little pleasures of his hometown during his young age. The narrator cherishes these feelings, although some of them were not real. Regardless, the persona longs for this artificially supplied joy as it stays with him and never fades (Welch 184). On the other hand, Ode to a Nightingale is a composition that relates human life and suffering to a brief bird’s song. However, compared to human life, the song of the nightingale lives on for generations and is bound to be heard by individuals yet to be born as it was by the people who lived during the biblical times (Khadka 104). Although these poems talk about different subjects and varying emotions, they share connections that define their intentions.
In both poems, the speakers hope to escape their reality as they explore other worlds and what life offers. In Ode to a Nightingale, the narrator longs to experience the world of the nightingale. According to the speaker, human life is filled with strife and suffering. In the third stanza, Keats notes that the persona exists in a world where “men sit and hear each other groan” (Mays p 917, l. 24). Moreover, he suggests that it is a place “where youth grows pale, and specter-thin, and dies” and “where but to think is to be full of sorrow” (l. 26-27). In addition, he imagines the freedom that nature provides and natural experiences. However, he connects nature to immortality due to its restorative effect and the nightingale as a creature that is part of the natural cycle (Keats and Norah 9). The narrator shares the idea that “Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! No hungry generations tread thee down” ( l. 61-62). The author writes, “Away! away! for I will fly to thee, on the viewless wings of Poesy”(l. 31-33). Thus, he hopes to one day leave these troubles and become free of human obligations.
Similarly, Ode to Cheese Fries describes the nostalgic feelings of the speaker and his memories of a time when he was happy with whatever his life presented. The author talks about the city where he comes from and how they are offered substandard products, starting from children’s toys to the food they eat. Everything in their city is fake and manufactured to match the actual products. Nevertheless, he is quite contented with what he gets because they give him nourishment and comfort (Welch 186). Therefore, he does not care about their quality as long as he is in his safe space. In the first stanza, the speaker suggests that what he eats is “yellow that it could be manufactured” (Olivarez p 15, l. 5). Nevertheless, he does not mind that it is not real. The world where he comes from is not perfect but sufficient to fulfill his human desires. In the second stanza, the narrator notes that “I come from a city of foreclosure, empty lot, city where we got dollar-store-brand action figures—so what my Wolverine didn’t” (l. 8-12). Thus, the narrator longs for these simple pleasures and misses the artificial things that facilitated his joy.
One of the main features observable in both poems is the use of descriptive language to describe the persona’s inner feelings and emotions. For example, the author of Ode to Cheese Fries creates vivid imagery of the cheese in his hometown and compelling comparisons that facilitate a better interpretation (Welch 186). In the first stanza, the poet suggests that “the golden goo of artificial delicious, lines my stomach with sun-like grease, for weeks after eating the yellow” (Olivares p 15, l. 1-4). Thus, he enables the audience to perceive cheese that is deep yellow, greasy, and bright like the sun. Similarly, Ode to a Nightingale uses intense words to describe worldly suffering and despair. Moreover, the author intensively describes his fascination with the idea of a peaceful death (Khadka 105). In the sixth stanza, the poem states, “I have been half in love with easeful Death, to cease upon the midnight with no pain, while thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad” (Mays p 917, l. 62-67). Thus, the descriptive elements play a critical role in aligning the authors’ thoughts with the audience and enabling them to share their experiences.
Ode to Cheese Fries and Ode to a Nightingale both employ literary devices that make the text more appealing to the audience. For example, both poems use similes to compare things to other things or feelings. In Ode to Cheese Fries, the poet compares the yellow cheese and its greasy nature to the sun. Similarly, in Ode to a Nightingale, the author suggests that “Forlorn! The very word is like a bell” to compare Forlorn to a bell (Mays p 917, l. 71). In addition, both poems use personification, which describes giving human attributes to inanimate objects. An example of personification in Ode to a Nightingale is on line 36, suggesting that “The Queen moon is on her throne” (Mays p 917, l. 36). Moreover, both poems adopt enjambment, a technique that describes continuing with a sentence in the next line of a poem without pausing. However, the poems have different structures in that Ode to a Nightingale is longer than Ode to Cheese Fries. Ode to a Nightingale has ten lines in each stanza, while Ode to Cheese Fries has six lines.
Odes are poems that allow the speaker to express deep and meandering meditations on the issues they would like to escape. That being said, Ode to Cheese Fries and Ode to Nightingale feature narrators who are lost in thought. While Keats seeks to reconcile nature and human life, Olivarez is nostalgic and longs for the time when things around him were not as complicated. However, these poems adopt similar composition techniques in that they are descriptive and rich textured. Both poems adopt literary elements like similes, personification, and enjambment, which serve to create a melodic tune. However, they have different rhyme schemes and structures that make them unique. Nevertheless, the authors appropriately adopt these literary elements to tell their story and deliver a powerful message.
Works Cited
Keats, John, and Norah Hadi Alsaeed. “A Psychoanalytic Reading of Ode to a Nightingale.”
Addaiyan Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 3.2 (2021): 8- 17. Web.
Khadka, Kul Bahadur. “A Discussion of John Keats’s Ode to a Nightingale.”Interdisciplinary Journal of Management and Social Sciences 2.1 (2021): 102-107.
Mays, Kelly J. The Norton introduction to literature. WW Norton & Company, 2015.
Olivarez, José. Citizen Illegal. Haymarket Books, 2018.
Welch, Michael. “Jose Olivarez. Citizen Illegal.” Prairie Schooner 93.1 (2019): 184-187.