Ode on Solitude

Stanza 1: “How happy he, who free from care”

The writer says that a man who owns his own farm is the happiest man because he can “breathe his native air.” In other words, he works for something that is his and doesn’t have to worry about owing anything to anyone else. What comes out of this land is the fruit of his labor. This part of the poem sounds idealistic and serene.

Stanza 2: “Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread”

The writer continues to describe the farmer’s life in more detail. From this farm land he gets milk; from the grains that grow in the field he can make his own bread; from the wool of his sheep he can make his own clothing; the shade from the trees protect him from the sun in the summer, and in the winter the wood from the trees will warm his home.

The writer is basically stating that owning your own farm will practically give you all you need to live (the farmer can totally rely on his farm for survival). Though this may sound like a simple life, the farmer is enamored with what nature provides for him.

Stanza 3: “Blest, who can unconcernedly find”

The writer says that the farmer’s life is blessed. His days go by very quickly because the farmer has “health of body” and “peace of mind.” Working in his farm gives him such pleasure and gives comfort to the farmer. To the farmer, there’s no better place than his farm.

Stanza 4: “Sound sleep by night; study and ease”

At night the farmer “sleeps soundly.” Because he has freedom from the demands of his work, he has time to study. His days go by without any worries so he is able to enjoy hours of “recreation.”

In this part of the poem, the writer again paints a serene environment; therefore the farmer has an ideal life.

Stanza 5: “Thus let me live, unheard, unknown”

In this final stanza, the farmer wants to live “unheard, unknown.” He doesn’t want to know people or to be known by others. The farmer is perfectly content living alone because the farm has given him all the happiness he’s needed; thus, no one will mourn for him when he dies. He just wants to leave this world and not be remembered. He doesn’t even want his name engraved on a tombstone.

My Comments:

The writer of this poem writes as though it’s ideal just to live for yourself (live in solitude). We don’t ever get to hear about the hard labor that’s involved in maintaining a farm or the seasonal hardships; which is probably incredibly hard especially if you’re doing it all alone. He describes that you only need land to provide all that you need for survival. There’s no need to surround yourself with people or to live for anyone but yourself. Though the farmer’s life is serene and has no complications, it’s a lonely existence. When you die there won’t be a trace that you ever lived. No one will have fond or bad memories of you. Overall, this poem is romanticized and not at all realistic in nature.