My Last Dollar

10/25/13

Poetry analysis: Ode on Solitude by Alexander Pope - ‫ﻣﺪرﺳﺔ اﺳﺂل اﻹﻟﻜﺘﺮوﻧﯿﺔ ﻟﺘﻌﻠﯿﻢ اﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻹﻧﺠﻠﯿﺰﯾﺔ‬

This poem is about solitude, not as a bad thing but as a blessing. It talks about freedom of responsibility to the society, to courtesy and stifling social norms. In the first verse "how happy he, who free from care, the rage of courts, and noise of towns". Alexander is talking about the happiness and joy derived by a person who is not encumbered by the niceties of society, in fact he is envious of that peace and freedom. He sees the solitude as a blessing and privilege. Then he goes on to say "Contented breaths his native air, in his own grounds", the person is not only free from the social graces but is his own person, owns himself and things and answers to no one but himself. In the second verse he talks about the person right to all he has, no taxes and no relatives or friends to support. He also revels in the right and freedom to do as he pleases and when. He enjoys all that he has without the worry of what society thinks, or what the norms are. He spares no thought to modesty. He derives joy from simple pleasures of life, he does not need to be extravagant and ostentatious to be satisfied, although with society owning such simple things as a house, a herd of cows, flock of sheep, and a groove of trees is seen as peasant live. The society looks down on people like that and sees them as people of no consequence and unfortunate, but to the poet he regards such people as the true possessors of the finer thing of life. By the third verse he has found that only people who lead such life has a true chance to good health. This he says steams from the lack of stress induced by the society and people. No answering to anybody, no nagging from others and no passing or receipt of

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10/25/13

Poetry analysis: Ode on Solitude by Alexander Pope - ‫ﻣﺪرﺳﺔ اﺳﺂل اﻹﻟﻜﺘﺮوﻧﯿﺔ ﻟﺘﻌﻠﯿﻢ اﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻹﻧﺠﻠﯿﺰﯾﺔ‬

judgement. To the poet it...