Palinode


A palinode or palinody is an ode in which the writer retracts a view or sentiment expressed in an earlier poem. The first recorded use of a palinode is in a poem by Stesichorus in the 7th century BC, in which he retracts his earlier statement that the Trojan War was all the fault of Helen.
An important example of a palinode is that of Socrates in the Phaedrus in which his first major speech disparages the "mania" of Eros and its part in human affairs, while his second one praises Eros. As he says, "we must not let anyone disturb us or frighten us with the claim that you should prefer a friend who is in control of himself to one who is disturbed. Besides proving that point, if is to win his case, our opponent must show that love is not sent by the gods as a benefit to a lover and his boy. And we, for our part, must prove the opposite, that this sort of madness is given us by the gods to ensure our greatest good fortune. It will be a proof that convinces the wise if not the clever."
The word comes from the Greek παλινῳδία from πάλιν and ᾠδή ; the Latin-derived equivalent "recantation" is an exact calque.
It can also be a recantation of a defamatory statement in Scots Law.

Examples

is one example of a palinode.
In 1895, Gelett Burgess wrote his famous poem, the Purple Cow:
Later in his life, he followed it with this palinode:
Ogden Nash wrote a palinode in relation to his most famous poem about the dandiness of candy, and quickness of liquor:
Palinodes have also been created by many medieval writers such as Augustine, Bede, Giraldus Cambrensis, Jean de Meun, Andreas Capellanus, Guittone d'Arezzo and others.