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  • The Quiet Life or Ode To Solitude by Pope

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    The poem describes the ideal life of solitude and self-sufficiency. The poet finds happiness living on a few acres of his native land, where his farms provides all his needs. He is content with milk from his herds, bread from his fields, and attire from his flocks. In summer the trees provide shade, and in winter their wood gives fire. The poet sees this life as blessed, as time passes peacefully and his physical and mental health remain intact. He wishes to live and die unseen and unmourned, with no stone left to mark his grave.

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    The Quiet Life or Ode to Solitude by Pope

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    The poem describes the ideal life of solitude and self-sufficiency. The poet finds happiness living on a few acres of his native land, where his farms provides all his needs. He is content with milk from his herds, bread from his fields, and attire from his flocks. In summer the trees provide shade, and in winter their wood gives fire. The poet sees this life as blessed, as time passes peacefully and his physical and mental health remain intact. He wishes to live and die unseen and unmourned, with no stone left to mark his grave.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    439 views4 pages

    The Quiet Life or Ode To Solitude by Pope

    Uploaded by

    appachud
    The poem describes the ideal life of solitude and self-sufficiency. The poet finds happiness living on a few acres of his native land, where his farms provides all his needs. He is content with milk from his herds, bread from his fields, and attire from his flocks. In summer the trees provide shade, and in winter their wood gives fire. The poet sees this life as blessed, as time passes peacefully and his physical and mental health remain intact. He wishes to live and die unseen and unmourned, with no stone left to mark his grave.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
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    of 4

    Ode on Solitude

    -BY 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.

    SUMMARY:
    The Poets deepest desire is that he should have a few
    acres of his own land, where he is happy to live and work.
    He will be happy to breathe the air of his native land. It
    means that he is happy with what he has in his native place
    and he does not wish to have more.

    In the second paragraph the poet simply means that the


    man is self-sufficient. His land, now shown to be a farm,
    provides for all of his needs — his herds provide him with
    milk, he is able to bake his own bread. In the summer, his
    trees provide ample shade, and in the winter the wood from
    those same trees can be lit to keep him warm. He has no
    need of anything beyond his own land.

    The narrator considered this farmer blessed! Time


    almost doesn’t have meaning for this man; his world
    provides for all of his needs. Hours go by, days go by, years
    go by, and everything remains the same. The health the man
    is in at the beginning of this cycle is the health he remains in
    when it is finished. He has peace of mind which is a blessing
    for him.
    The poet says that he sleeps a sound sleep. He is
    ignorant about the knowledge and competition in the world.
    It’s a strange idea and casts the character of the farmer in a
    different light. He does not know about the world. And so he
    could sleep a sound sleep.

    Here the poet wants an unseen life. He wants to live in


    solitude until he dies. He wants to die unlamented. Not a
    stone should be carved on his grave, so that no one will
    know where he lies after death. A perfect life of solitude and
    peace.

    Reference to context:
    1) Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
    Thus unlamented let me die.
    Context: The above lines are taken from the poem “Ode on
    Solitude” composed by Alexander Pope. The poet wants to
    lead a quiet and secluded life with minimum responsibility
    and minimum assets.
    Explanation: Last Paragraph of the Summary.

    2) Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,


    Whose flocks supply him with attire.
    Context: As Above
    Explanation: His land provides for all of his needs — his
    herds provide him with milk, he is able to bake his own
    bread. In the summer, his trees provide ample shade, and in
    the winter the wood from those same trees can be lit to keep
    him warm. He has no need of anything beyond his own land.
    3) Blest, who can unconcernedly find
    Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
    In health of body, peace of mind, Quiet by day.
    Context: As Above
    Explanation: 3rd paragraph

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