Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College

“Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College” consists of ten stanzas of ten lines each. The form reflects an expectation that every stanza in a poem should be the same length in order to demonstrate unity, control, and intention on behalf of the poet. The form advances the theme and message of Gray’s poem, and the neat and even form lets the speaker break the poem into two parts. The first part — the first five stanzas, or 50 lines — has a cheerful tone as they focus on the experience of children, and the second half — Stanzas 6-10, or Lines 51-100 —highlights the challenges of turning into an adult. Line 51 sets the tone of the second half of the poem: “Alas, regardless of their doom.” At the poem’s midway point, the tone becomes sinister, and the tight form enhances the juxtaposition between the stanzas centered on childhood and the stanzas tied to adult life.

As for meter, the poem switches between iambic tetrameters and trimeters, with an “ababccdeed” rhyme scheme. The alternating meter is part of the