The Progress of Poesy: A Pindaric Ode

“The Progress of Poesy” appeared during a period of transition in English poetry. The existence of masters such as William Shakespeare and John Dryden proves that the Muses have sought residence in England, or “Albion” with its “sea-encircled coast” (Line 82). Though the Muses, who in Greek mythology are responsible for poetic inspiration, take up residence in England, the nation’s poetry production is stagnant. “The Progress of Poesy” responds to this stagnation by reestablishing a connection between English and classical verse. Through the use of classical allusion, forms, and philosophy, Gray traces a throughline from poetry’s origin to its current state in England where it is “heard no more” (Line 111). This state is only temporary, however. Gray’s speaker envisions and presents their new form of poetry as a way to break free from the current poetic stagnation and to further establish England as the rightful inheritor of the Greek Muses.

“The Progress of Poesy” is dense with classical allusions—or references to classical texts, mythology, and authors. The speaker relies on allusions to develop his conceit and argument about English poetry and its ties to the classical world. Not only do allusions to Muses (Lines 28, 56, 199), the god Jove (Lines 21, 57), and the “Aeolian lyre” (Lines 1, 107) that bookends the poem, build an implicit connection between the speaker’s contemporary poetry and classical works, the shared knowledge that such references imply solidifies that same connection. The speaker’s dependence on classical allusion to articulate his poetic ideas demonstrates poetry’s reliance on classical understandings.

The poet’s use of classical mythology compliments and supports the poem’s conceit that the original “sad Nine” (Line 77) Greek Muses are still active in the world. The speaker claims that the Muses “Left their Parnassus” (Line 78), or the original mountain home of the Muses, poetry, music, and learning, during “Greece’s evil hour” (Line 77) and fled to more hospitable areas such as Rome and, eventually, England. If the Greek Muses, as the poet argues, are still the inspiration for their contemporary English poetry, it makes sense to talk about poetry using their native language and mythology. The poet’s focus on classical ideas also extends to the poem’s form. The Pindaric Ode originated with the ancient Greek poet Pindar, whose victory odes occasioned by the early Olympic games are among the most celebrated extant ancient Greek poetry. Gray’s close emulation of this form in English (See: Literary Devices) stands testament to the importance of Greek poetry in his aesthetic ideas.

Classical knowledge also informs the work’s most potent symbols and images (See: Symbols & Motifs). The recurring motif of the sun, for instance, which is synonymous with the power of poetry and song to bring light into humanity’s encounter with “Night and all her sickly dews” (Line 49), draws upon the work of the Greek philosopher Plato. Throughout his work, and particularly in his allegory of the cave, Plato likens the sun to the deeper truths and knowledge that underlie reality. The Age of Enlightenment is so named because of this classical association between light, truth, and revelation.

Poetry’s ability to reveal truth is further reinforced by the speaker’s claims that it can “unlock the gates of joy” (Line 82) and give access to the “secrets of th’ abyss” (Line 97). Plato’s ideas of transcendence also play a role in Gray’s conception of poetry. “Dryden’s less presumptuous car” (Line 104), pulled by “coursers of ethereal race” (Line 106) represents the peak of human accomplishment as they follow the gods’ example (Plato, Phaedrus, ~370 B.C.E., 246a–254e). The individuals capable of reaching this height are, like the poem’s speaker, able to see beyond the material world, “Where angels tremble while they gaze” (Line 100).

Classical wisdom is not the only way that the poem’s allusions deepen the meaning of its symbols. The speaker employs a number of natural and geographical images to root poetry in particular places. Though one of the work’s major themes is poetry’s universality (See: Themes), the poet is nevertheless careful to identify particular poetic hubs based on where the “sad Nine” (Line 77) Greek Muses establish themselves. These references are sometimes as complex as the opening “Aeolian” (Line 1) instrument, which connects the art of poetry to the Greek wind god Aeolus, wind more generally, the ties and moving bodies of water, the Aeolian mode of western music (commonly referred to as the natural minor scale), and the Aeolian islands. At other times, the references merely act to solidify the narrative’s setting, such as those to “Thracia’s hills” (Line 17) or “Maeander’s amber waves” (Line 69). All of these natural formations, however, amplify the poetry just as “The rocks and nodding groves rebellow to the roar” (Line 12) of the music.

These images reach their apex in the poem’s ninth stanza, which relates the titular Progress of Poesy, and by extension, the Muses, from “Parnassus for the Latain plains” (Line 78) and eventually to “Albion” (Line 82). The Muses’ reason for leaving Greece and Rome are related to evil and “the pomp of tyrant Power” (Line 79). The limited number of Muses and the fact that they move as a single unit presents them as a limited resource that are only capable of gracing one nation at any particular time. By having them inhabit England, Gray presents his own nation as the rightful inheritor of poetic history and the Greek’s cultural legacy.

Though poetry is “heard no more” (Line 111) in Gray’s England, the muses remain there, nurturing the “immortal Boy” (Line 91) whose “hands the lyre explore[s]” (Line 107). This boy, playing the lyre, is the same “daring spirit [that] Wakes [it] now” to recite “The Progress of Poesy” (Lines 112-113). His is the voice that speaks poetry with the language and knowledge of the ancient Greeks and the voice that begins “The Progress of Poesy” with the invocation “Awake, Aeolian lyre, awake” (Line 1). The speaker, through the recitation of this poem, aims to renew and continue the classical tradition that he inherits and that inspires him.