Blog Post 9—Structure and Themes of Book 4 Horace Odes

Overall Prevailing Theme: Aging

Supplementary Themes: Love, War, Flight, Nature, Passing on to the next generation, Greed/Morality

Prevailing Styles: Pindar, Sappho, Catullus, Theognis, Alcaeus

Story Arc:

1.       1.           Aging- tired, exhausted, trying to cling to youth
2.       Aging- proud of what lives on (in poetry and in the state)
3.       Aging- thankful for what he’s had
4.       Aging- worried for the future of the young
5.       Aging- proud of the coming state under Augustus
6.       Aging- Horace will never die through his poetry
7.       Aging- acceptance but still worry
8.       Aging- proud of his accomplishments in life
9.       Aging- proud of his chosen occupation/accomplishments
10.   Aging- afraid of becoming old and ugly; projecting
11.   Aging- by accepting age, you age with grace
12.   Aging, new hope but still fear of death
13.   Aging- anger at the process; projecting
14.   Aging- proud of what is to come; Lion King
15.   Aging- going to hades; simultaneous death and birth of a new generation
Most common images: (larger font denotes more common image)

  

1.       The first poem is Sapphic. Horace touches on themes of love in an ironic way, using aging and the passing on to the next generation to illustrate his exhaustion but also his unwillingness to give up his youthful behavior.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used when addressing Venus: war, liver to roast, lustrous swans, marble among the Alban lakes under a beam of citrus wood, clouds of incense, mingled notes of lyre, drinking bouts, binding my brow with fresh flowers

1.       In this section of the poem, Horace describes the things a young noble boy could give to Venus that she might want; assumedly things in which Horace can no longer partake, given his age.

                                                             ii.      Used while breaking the third wall: tear trickling down my cheek, glib tongue fall shamefully silent as I speak, catch and hold you, pursue you, swim the rolling waves

1.       In the last few stanzas of the poem, Horace explains the feelings he’s had throughout the beginning stanzas: his sadness and shock at his aging status and how he feels he should not have to deal with desire, yet he continues to do so.

                                                            iii.      The natural images in this poem (waves, lakes, flowers) serve to reinforce his discussion of the natural order. Because these are all elements of nature that exhibit movement (unidirectional or life-cyclical), they also serve to reinforce his sub-theme of passing Rome on to the next generation.

2.       This poem is written in the Pindaric style. Horace primarily addresses nature of poetry through false modesty, exhibiting his skills in various Pindaric forms, all the while praising Caesar Augustus, the new Caesar. Because this poem praises the coming of the new ruler and all the great things he believes Augustus will do, it illustrates the sub-theme of passing on to the next generation.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used in Pindaric revue: struggling on feathers waxed by the art of Daedalus, rain-fed river running down, laurel of Apollo, bold current of his dithyrambs, rhythms that know no law, prize worth a hundred statues, young man torn from his weeping bride, breeze lifts the swan, style and measure of the Matine bee, sipping the harvest of sweet thyme

1.       In the beginning stanzas of the poem, Horace addresses each of the Pindaric styles, stating that he will not write in those styles while simultaneously illustrating that he is able to do so.

                                                             ii.      Used in praise of Augustus: Age of Gold, a tender calf…just taken from its mother and growing to maturity in rich pasture…copying with the white mark on its forehead the curved fires of the third rising of the moon, otherwise pure brown

1.       In the latter stanzas of the poem, Horace hides a praise for Augustus in praise for Iullus. In stating that Iullus is so lucky he will be able to write about Augustus’ greatness and glory, Horace is passing his responsibilities as the poet of the court to Iullus, the younger generation.

                                                            iii.      Images of flight throughout the beginning of the poem serve to reinforce Horace’s belief that poetry is far-reaching and lasting. In addition, his image of the tender calf reinforces his trope of wanting for just enough and defying greed.

3.       Horace’s third ode is written in the Pindaric style. He addresses the nature of the relationship between poet and patron through praise for Melpomene.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to describe ways other men will not be famous: tireless horse will take him to victory, crushing the swelling threats of kings, thick tresses of forest foliage

1.       All of these are ways that Melopomene cannot influence people’s fame or fortune with only his preference (“kindly eye”).

                                                             ii.      Used to describe the way Rome views him (Horace): envy’s tooth no longer bites so keenly, grant to dumb fish the song of the swan, lyre

1.       However, Horace’s fame is solely due to Melopomene (“this is all your gift…that I breath, and give pleasure, if I give pleasure, is due to you”). In this way, Horace is thanking Melopomene for allowing him to have the life he does.

4.       Horace’s fourth poem is written in a Theognis-esque style. Horace worries for morality of Rome’s youths and discusses the importance of recognizing who is noble and who is base, and keeping them separate from one another.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to praise Augustus: winged lightning bearer, thrust him from the nest, winds of spring, swooping down upon the sheepfolds, lion whelp just driven from the rich milk of his tawny mother, roe-deer intent on grazing rich pastures, dies in jaws till then unblooded

1.       The early stanzas of the poem describe Augustus’ achievements in war for his country.

                                                             ii.      Used to state the moral: cattle, horses, fierce eagle does not hatch the timorous dove

1.       The eighth and ninth stanzas describe Horace’s moral: nobility is born from nobility. Horace uses animal comparisons for the virtues he wishes to instill in the next generation. His disdain for the base is seen where he says, “the brave are born from the brave and good”, and the image of the eagle not birthing the dove (above). Horace implies that nobility always and only comes from nobility, and base always and only comes from base. Thus, in order to enhance the breeding of the Roman population, nobility should only breed with one another.

                                                            iii.      Used to address Rome: flame, forest, wind, ‘we are deer, the helpless prey of ravenous wolves’, ashes, its sacraments its sons and its aged fathers, holm-oak stripped by double axes

1.       The final stanzas address the glory bestowed upon Rome in its past victories through the “youth of Rome” who have “grown in strength by constant labour and achievement”. Horace is optimistic for the coming generation of Rome to be mostly strong and hard-working.

                                                           iv.      The images of animals in this poem are used to represent qualities and values of people as seen by Horace. For example, the lion, eagle, and wolf are strong predators, where the dove, doe, and deer are weaker. Horace says the coming generation of Rome is represented by these stronger animalistic qualities.

5.       Horace’s fifth poem is written in the Pindaric style. Horace praises Augustus and begs him to return from battle to his people and his rightful place as the ruler of the next generation of Romans.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to honor Augustus: radiance, mother, son,  sailing, sea, face shines like springtime, jealous blasts of the South wind

1.       Horace begs Augustus to come home to Rome and his people, who need him and love him the way a mother needs and loves her son.

                                                             ii.      Used to describe the new country under Augustus: ox wanders the fields, Sailors fly across the peaceful sea, truth shrinks from the shame of untruth

1.       Horace is finally happy with the lack of civil war and uncouth behavior in Rome. He invites Augustus to return and be happy and safe with his people.

                                                            iii.      Used to describe Augustus’ relationship to his people: every man weds the vine to the maiden tree, sun, wine, Caesar as a god, second course, dry at dawn when the day is new and not so dry when the sun is under the sea

1.       Horace tells Augustus that when he returns everyone will be so happy to have him back and invite him to their homes with prayers worthy of a God and much wine with which to celebrate.

                                                           iv.      Images of the sun rising and setting and the idea of Augustus as a son and young god like Hercules are used by Horace to establish the idea that Augustus leads the next generation of Rome in his powerful youth.

6.       Horace’s sixth poem is written as a Pindaric praise. Horace thanks Phoebus for giving him the Secular Hymn that will be remembered forever.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to describe the works of other gods that are not as great as Phoebus: fell like a pine tree hacked by the biting edge of steel or a cypress struck by the east wind, burning infant children, baby hiding in the womb

1.       Horace list things gods have done that he is not talking about while simultaneously telling an abridged story of each with tones of praise. His goal is to narrow down the ultimate God in his opinion-Phoebus.

                                                             ii.      Used to describe Phoebus’ gifts: shrill lyre, breath of song, name of poet, deer and lynxes, Lesbian verse, Noctiluca with her growing torch

1.       Horace finally invokes Phoebus by name and specifically lists why Phoebus is his most dear god: Phoebus is the god who gave him his legacy as a poet. Horace’s greatness is due to his favor and Muse-like assistance from Phoebus.

                                                            iii.      Images of song and music are used by Horace, despite the fact that he does no literally sing on his lyre, because he is aligning himself with the greater lyric structural tradition.

7.       The seventh poem addresses morality. Horace implores his audience to make the most of life, warning them that no one is immortal.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to illustrate the passing of time: snow has fled, grass is now coming back, earth is making its change, rivers are going down and flowing between their banks, naked Grace, year gives warning and the hour that hurries along the life-giving day, cold melts, summer tramples on the heels, laden with fruit pours out her crops, sluggish Winter, swift moons make good their losses in the sky

1.       Horace explains the quick passage of the seasons through changes in nature, along with the death and/or life that each brings. This is an allegory to the life cycles of humans- old plants die to nurture the soil for the new plants next spring.

                                                             ii.      Used to illustrate the relative nature of gods and mortals: we are dust and shadow, the greedy hands of your heir, darkness beneath the earth

1.       Horace implores this generation of Romans to give everything they have to themselves and make the most of each day, because they never know which day will be their last. Everyone dies at the hands of the gods and cannot be brought back through godly favor. In addition, the younger generation is described as “greedy”; if the older generation spends all their money on themselves, the younger generation will be forced by necessity to work and earn their own living.

8.       This poem is written in the Pindaric style. Horace elaborates upon the lasting power of poetry as compared to other gifts and forms of fame.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to illustrate various gifts of fame and fortune: goblets and bronzes, tripods, prizes won by Greek heroes, skilled both of them to represent both god and man, marble slabs incised with public records bringing breath and life back to great leaders after death, threats thrown back in his teeth

1.       Horace lists many ways men can win prizes/gifts/fame/their place in history, stating that if he were rich he would confer such gifts upon his friends. He speaks of these records of glory and memory with positivity. However, his tone notably shifts in later stanzas, illustrating that he is truly stating that poetry is greater than all of these things.

                                                             ii.      Used to explain the power of the written word (poetry): if paper does not speak of your achievements you will win no reward, jealous silence, mighty poets, muse forbids him to die, muse grants the sky

1.       In line 21, Horace shifts to describing the powers of poetry to make its subjects immortal and praised throughout time by the grace of the Muse.

                                                            iii.      Invoccation of Bacchus: temples crowned with green sprigs of the vine

1.       The final two lines of the poem include an aside referencing a temple decorated with grapevines and an invocation of Bacchus, god of wine and celebration. This invocation is potentially to complete the sympotic image; poetry read for friends (or in Horace’s case for patrons) as guests drink wine.

9.       This poem includes discourse of all greek forms, praise for Lollius, morals of having enough, honor for warriors, and power of poetry in commemoration

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to reference the great Greek poets: lyre, breathes the ardour of love

1.       These specific images are for Sappho; the other poets mentioned do not have a significant amount of imagery attached because they are called out by name (Homer, Pindar, Anacreon). In a sense, the names of these poets are images because they bring to mind all of the works of each poet and the images and tropes they used.

                                                             ii.      Used to reference poetic subjects and those who didn’t make it into poems: crushed under eternal night, sacred poet

1.       Horace uses those who did make it into poems to argue that there are so many other great people in the world, but no one knows them because they had no one to write about them and make them immortal.

                                                            iii.      Used to praise Lollius: leave you unsung, gnawed away at by envy and oblivion, mind upright in prosperity, greed, judgement, truth, sword, triumph, gifts of gods, rigour of poverty, death for one’s homeland

1.       Horace’s praise for Lollius thinly veils the morals of justice, not being greedy, piety, and nationalism that he really wants to teach. This poem is written for the next generation with the intent of using Lollius as an example of what the new age of young men should aspire to.

10.   This poem is addresses a man who is no longer young and beautiful. In accentuating the confusion with which Ligurinus looks upon his older self while still behaving like a young man in his relationship with Venus, Horace projects his own feelings from poem 1.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to describe Ligurinus: plumage of your pride, hair now floating round your shoulders is cut and lying on the ground, crimson of the rose

1.       Horace describes the physical changes of aging through the idea of a proud bird (peacock?) losing its color as a parallel to the way Ligurinus loses his boyish long hair and youthful glow. Horace scorns Ligurinus as “still cruel and still enjoying the power/that Venus gives”, which immediately sets the reader up knowing that Horace does not approve of Ligurinus’ attempts to stay young and lustful, but he should leave this behavior to the youths.

11.   This poem is addresses a love of Horace who is aging and growing ugly and unwanted. Through the image of this ugly older woman who tries to act like a young woman, Horace accentuates the qualities of the young and re-states his idea in poem 1 and 10 that the old should pass on their relationship with Venus to the young.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to describe the romantic scene older people can enjoy in love: cask full of wine, celery in the garden, wealth of ivy, smiling with silver, sacred green, sacrificial lamb, whirling flames, sooty smoke

1.       Horace implores Phyllis to enjoy wine and a new kind of intelligent love with him, without the flame of immature desire. Images of well-aged wine, overgrown nature, and soot illustrate the wealth of aging gracefully and without trying to hold on to immature youth.

                                                             ii.      Used to describe the love of a young girl: shackled in delicious fetters, winged Pegasus, weighed down by his earthly rider

1.       Horace also notes that Phyllis is still looking at a young boy and implores her to leave the young boy to the young girl, thus passing on Venus to the next generation and leaving the two of them to one another. Horace formerly suffered from this irony of knowing he should cease to fall for Venus while simultaneously already being taken by a young boy. The image of shackles and weight on those trying to fly are the weight of the elderly loving the young- it keeps them from finding their true love.

12.   To Virgil as the seasons change. Horace discusses wine, greed, folly, hunger for power, and the passing of life to the next generation.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to describe the passing of seasons: unhappy swallow, soft young grass, plump sheep, reed pipe

1.       In the coming of spring, the earth becomes green and unfrozen and animals come out to see who survived the winter; people become happy and celebrate their survival and wealth with song. This pastiche of Spring, the season of new rebirth, serves to illustrate the coming of the new generation.

                                                             ii.      Used in discussion of greed: juice of Bacchus squeezed from Calenian presses, all its gifts of new hope and all its power to wash away the bitterness of care, bathe in my cups, black fires of death

1.       Horace tells Virgil that if he wants to drink at Horace’s house, or take gifts from Horace, he will have to pay for them, at least a small sum. Horace only wants just enough for a lot of his wine and wealth, but wants to ensure he is not viewed as a rich man, only a man who has enough. Horace also includes a moral: stop thinking solely about getting rich and live each day like it is your last, because it might be.

13.   This poem is addresses a love of Horace who is aging and growing ugly and unwanted. Through the image of this ugly older woman who tries to act like a young woman, Horace accentuates the qualities of the young and re-states his idea in poem 1, 10, and 11 that the old should pass on their relationship with Venus to the young.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to describe the woman: lyre, dry oaks, black teeth, wrinkles, snow in your hair, purples, precious stones, time buried in old calendars, swiftly flying days, ancient crow, hot-blooded young men, see your torch crumbling into ashes

1.       This woman is described with the rude invective style of Catullus. Horace spares no detail in explaining why she will not have the young men she desires because of her age, in an attempt to get her to understand that she is not a young girl so cannot act like a young girl any longer. It is unflattering.

                                                             ii.      Used to describe Horace’s former relationship with this woman: breathed my breath of love, stole me from myself

1.       While Horace shows disdain for the current actions of his former lover, he reminds her what a great person she was when she was younger and implores her to be that person again but leave the young boys to the young girls, because she will only hurt herself by pursuing them.

14.   Horace Pindarically praises Augustus in this poem, also addressing immortalization through poetry, Augustus’ victories in war and the passing of Rome to the next generation.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used to describe Augustus’ victories: wherever the sun bathes habitable shores in light, perched on the tremendous Alps, wear out the hearts of men who freely chose to dedicate themselves to death, waves of the irresistible sea, cleaves the clouds, foaming horse through fire and flame, rolls the bull river, rage to loose fearsome flood, sea monsters, howling, war

1.       Horace immortalizes Augustus’ victories and greatness in this poem. His intent to do so is made clear in the first two stanzas, where Horace asks what could be done to commemorate all Augustus has accomplished for Rome. Augustus is the new leader of the second triumvirate, thus, in passing his power of immortalization through poetry on to Augustus from Julius Caesar, Horace passes Rome onto Augustus’ generation.

15.   Horace’s final poem also praises Augustus in the Pindaric form. Horace also addresses the restrictions of poetry and nature of glory, wine, and celebration. Furthermore, he implores Augustus to let everyone be happy and at peace in the next generation, without continuation of war or impiety.

a.       Images:

                                                               i.      Used in description of Horace’s restrictions as a poet: lyre, sail my little boat

1.       Horace says he would sing of battles but Phoebus will not allow it. His use of “little” to describe his boat reiterates his lack of greed. It also allows for the image of sailing in a little boat down the river to the Underworld, as Horace is nearing death.

                                                             ii.      Used in description of Augustus’ efforts for Rome: rising of the sun from his bed in the West, anger beat out its swords, drink the deep waters, children, wives, sing, pipe, offspring, life-giving

1.       Horace is proud of what Augustus has done for Rome thus far, ending wars at home and afar, and keeping Rome on a more moral path. Horace predicts and hopes for holy and ordinary celebrations with the invocation of Bacchus and prayer songs to the gods. Horace allows for the passing of a generation to its sons where he says, “leaders who have shown the virtues of their fathers” and “offspring of life-giving Venus”; now even the sons are history and the sons of sons will continue their legacy.