Ode I
The first Ode in the collection is addressed to Maecenas, the man who was the writer’s patron and who offered the necessary financial support Horace needed to keep writing. Maecenas is named in the first line "descended of kings’’ an allusion made to the possible link Maecenas had with former Roman heads of state.
Maecenas is praised because he is different from the other men of the age who preferred to spend their times watching chariot races and other famous entertainment methods of the time. Through this, the narrator wants to suggest the idea that Maecenas is an intelligent man who has intellectual pursuits and who is not interested in the cheap thrills offered by their world. These qualities, the narrator argues, makes Maecenas a suitable candidate for a ruling position in the state, thus proving Maecenas may have had a political motive for being a patron to various writers.
In the remaining stanzas, the narrator presents different lifestyles and how many people feel good by doing completely different things. This has the purpose to prove that every person is different and as such we should not be quick to criticize the ways through which a person entertains themselves and transmits the idea that every method is a valid one. The narrator claims once more that for him, poetry is the subject which brings him the most joy and transmits once more the idea that for him, it is the highest form of entertainment.
Ode XXI
The ode is addressed to Diana and Apollo, two important Gods in the time when the ode was written. The first line is addressed to the "tender virgins’’, the narrator urging them to praise Diana and to sing to her. This may be a reference made to the way in which Diana was worshiped, mainly by virgin girls who upon entering the temples build to honor Diana were required to become sacred prostitutes for a limited period of time.
The second line mentions Apollo, here worshiped by "boys’’, who are as well urged to sing their praise. Apollo’s mother, Latona, is also mentioned and deemed worthy of being praised, even though in the past, she did not play an important role as her son and Diana did.
The next lines are a reference made to the common places where Diana was worshiped, namely in a grove near a lake which was called in the past "Diana’s Mirror’’ and in other various places close to nature. This has the purpose to highlight the link between Diana and nature, the Goddess being associated in the past mostly with hunting and the fertility of the land.
The ode ends with the narrator listing the places where Apollo can be worshiped, all being placed in the heart of major cities and areas. The reason why his worshiping is done in the city is because he is tasked with protecting them from outside enemies, the narrator claiming that Apollo has the power to keep a place safe both from famine and the wars brought on by the surrounding nations, mentioning here the Romans, Persians and Britons.
Ode XXV
The ode is addressed to a woman named here Lydia which the narrator claims he meet in his youth. The mentioning of knocking on windows may suggest the narrator courted at one point in his life Lydia. The door opened to the narrator after continuing to knock at the windows, probably suggesting a marriage or maybe an agreement from Lydia’s part to have a sexual relationship.
Lydia was conquered by the ‘’long night’’, most likely an allusion made to death. While the age at which Lydia died is not mentioned, the narrator was deeply affected, comparing his situation to that of a beggar in an alley in the middle of the winter. This comparison has the purpose of showing just how affected the narrator was and how much he longed for his own death, knowing he will be reunited with his love in that manner.
Ode XXVII
The ode is addressed to "his companions’’ who remain unnamed and whose identities are a mystery. The "companions’’ have the habit of "quarreling’’ over cups, or rather over drinks and this quarrels may represent political debates which were custom in those times. The quarrels are called as being barbarous and the narrator suggests that the ‘’companions’’ chose instead to drink away their sorrow and thus give praise to Bacchus.
Silence, or rather a lack of political ideas, is seen as something negative, something which should be avoided at all times in favor of listening to the ruling class in a country. These ideas are compared with flames which can affect the whole society, bringing it down and destroying it completely.
Ode XXIX
The ode is addressed by the narrator to a man names Iccius. The name is a common name and thus could refer to any man of the time, be it a friend of the narrator or maybe a public figure of the time. The first stanza identifies the man as being a warrior, someone who could fight against "the kings of Saba’’, a reference made here to a line of Arabian rulers who are seen as being powerful and "unconquered’’, mainly because of their allegiance with other powerful nations.
The narrator then presents the ways in which the population would be affected by the war: virgins would be taken and made slaves, men would be killed, young men would be made slaves to the ruling class. The natural environment is also affected by the war, changing its course as a result of the violence. This has the purpose of transmitting the idea that violence is against the human nature, against humanity and the natural laws are affected as well as a result. The narrator ends the ode by calming everything will return to the way things were in the beginning when the wars and the violence will stop.
