KU UG SEM2 UNIT3: Ode on Solitude – Alexander Pope

 Happy the man, whose wish and care

A few paternal acres bound,

Content to breathe his native air,

In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,

Whose flocks supply him with attire,

Whose trees in summer yield him shade,

In winter fire.

Blest, who can unconcernedly find

Hours, days, and years slide soft away,

In health of body, peace of mind,

Quiet by day,

Sound sleep by night; study and ease,

Together mixed; sweet recreation;

And innocence, which most does please,

With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;

Thus unlamented let me die;

Steal from the world, and not a stone

Tell where I lie.

Ode on Solitude – Alexander Pope

Reference:

These lines are taken from the poem “Ode on Solitude” written by Alexander Pope. He wrote this poem in 1700 A.D. Ode is a lyrical poem. Solitude means loneliness. We may wonder because he wrote this poem at the age of 12.

 Context:

These lines in the poem are about solitude, a mature concept, particularly about wishing to die alone. This is Pope’s oldest surviving poem. Pope describes a romantic oversimplification of the rural man’s life. He considered the farmer blessed.

 Explanation:

The speaker exclaims that the man who inherited a few acres of land from his parents, where he can breathe his native air, is the happiest man. The speaker continues to describe the man as self-sufficient and his land provides for all of his needs. His herds provide him with milk, he makes his own bread from the grain he grows in his own fields, he makes his own clothes from his own sheep’s wool, and his trees shade him from the sun in summer and supply wood for heating his home in winter. He has no need of anything beyond his own land.

The speaker portrays this rural farmer as a satisfied individual for whom time passes swiftly, because the farmer has “health of body” and “peace of mind.” The farmer sleeps “sound by night.” He is free to study leisurely and enjoy “sweet recreation.” He passes his days harmlessly and enjoys his hours of quiet meditation. The narrator considered this farmer blessed! 

The speaker wishes for escapism, and begs for an unseen life. He wants to live “unheard, unknown.” He wants to be like the farmer at least in his status as a commoner who lived silently and when he dies, he wants no fanfare. He just wants to flit off from the world and not even have his name engraved on a tombstone.