In "Ode on Indolence," love appears to the speaker first, and it appears as a lovely young woman. She holds the hands of Ambition and Poesy but doesn't seem to torment the speaker as much as the other two figures. In fact, the speaker says that Love is the hardest for him to find, and he doesn't seem to know where to begin to look. What's more, he doesn't even really know what it means. Ultimately, he rejects love, just as he rejects ambition and poetry—at least… for now.
Questions About Love
- What's Love's role in this poem and how is it characterized?
- What does the embodiment of love indicate about the speaker?
- What does the poem tell us about love and its effects on our lives?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Even love is no match for laziness. We guess the poets were wrong.
Love is not as tempting as ambition or poetry, and the speaker doesn't seem to know where to find it. Perhaps the guy just hadn't fallen in love yet.