Horace Is To Pyrrha Character Analysis

Change is inevitable in life. Humans change just as surely as the seasons change. In Horace’s Ode 1.5 is to Pyrrha, someone he used to love. He writes about how whoever is currently loving Pyrrha does not know of the pain she brings as a free-spirited lover. He ends the Ode writing that he has given up on love. The two main characters of the poem are Horace and Pyrrha; both of whom change. Horace’s Ode 1.5 shows that a person can change as a result of his or her relationship with someone else, or independent of that, but the change inflicted by another person is stronger.

Pyrrha’s first change is physical, as she is “tying up [her] blonde hair” (Horace, Odes, 1.5.4). This is a change because hair naturally flows down, but she is changing her

Horace used to love Pyrrha, but no longer does. Horace writes about the lovers “who have no experience of” (Horace, Odes, 1.5.12) her. Clearly, Horace must have had some experience with her, and the only time that experience could have happened was in the past. This is because experience is something developed over time and is associated with holding a great deal of knowledge on a certain topic. The history that Horace has with Pyrrha has caused him to change. In fact, he states that he has “dedicated his [...] clothes” (Horace, Odes, 1.5.15). Horace presently is dedicated to not loving Pyrrha, which is a change from when he did love Pyrrha. The reason that he has changed is because he gains experience with Pyrrha and realizes that love is not lasting. If Horace had not loved Pyrrha, he would still be under the impression that love is lasting. Evidently, Pyrrha is the reason that Horace has changed from a person who loves Pyrrha and believes that love lasts to one who does not love her nor believe that love

This is because Pyrrha changes, but it is on her own free will and her emotions are not as strongly involved. On the other hand, Pyrrha causes Horace to change his mindset. Horace has been emotionally affected by the change Pyrrha inflicts, causing him to change his way of living drastically to no longer spending time romantically in love (citation). Additionally, Horace writes a the Ode to show his change and how someone else is loving her now (Horace, Odes, 1.5). An ode is a dedication to a subject. His feelings towards loving Pyrrha are obviously strong enough that he feels the need to address the subject in the form of the ode. Pyrrha does not have any ode or other dedication to the subject, which indicates that Pyrrha’s change is not as significant as the change the Horace undergoes. As a consequence, the meaning of Horace’s Ode is that people can either change on their own or because of someone else, but the change a person undergoes because of someone else is more