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.[1]
An important example of a palinode is that of Socrates in the Phaedrus[2] in which his first major speech disparages the "mania" of Eros and its part in human affairs, while his second one (commonly known as the palinode of Socrates) 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 [the lover of speeches] 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."[3]
The word comes from the Greek παλινῳδία from πάλιν (palin, meaning 'back' or 'again') and ᾠδή ("song"); the Latin-derived equivalent "recantation" is an exact calque (re- meaning 'back or 'again' and cant- meaning 'sing').
It can also be a recantation of a defamatory statement in Scots Law.[4]
- ^ cf. Phaedrus 243a: "False was my tale, thou ne'er across the main/ In beauteous ships didst fly, Troy's lofty tow'rs to gain"
- ^ cf. Phaedrus 244a–257b
- ^ cf. Phaedrus 245b (trans. A.Nehamas and P. Woodruff)
- ^ "Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: palinode". Retrieved 2022-12-19.