Ode to Dirt

"Ode to the Hymen" by Sharon Olds (2016)

Another ode from her collection Odes, “Ode to the Hymen” uses similar figures of speech and literary devices as “Ode to Dirt.” For instance, in “Ode to the Hymen,” partway through the poem, Olds falls into an empathetic, intimate address, stating, “Dear wall, / dear gate, dear stile, dear Dutch door” (Lines 14-15). As another of Olds’s odes, this poem is important to explore to understand Olds’s collection and the way she’s using the poetic form.

"What is the Earth?" by Sharon Olds (1999)

This is an important poem about the earth to compare to “Ode to Dirt,” “What is the Earth?” is from Sharon Olds’s 1999 collection Blood, Tin, Straw: Poems. “What is the Earth?” repeatedly attempts to define the earth and its placement in the universe, but the poem continually doubles back on itself, indicating the complexity of the topic.

"1954" by Sharon Olds (1999)

Another poem in which dirt makes an appearance, “1954” is a very different poem from “Ode to Dirt,” but offers an interesting contrast to the way Olds’s speaker confronts and characterizes dirt. Again, Olds concentrates on the speaker’s relationship to dirt, which “then” (Line 1) was a relationship of fear.