In the structural taxonomy of the lyric ode, what is a 'cowleyan' or irregular ode?

Correct answer: An ode without fixed stanzas, letting line length, meter, and rhyme shift with emotion

Introduced to English literature by Abraham Cowley in the 17th century, the irregular or Cowleyan ode abandoned the rigid strophic configurations of the Pindaric form and the uniform stanzas of the Horatian form. It established a flexible structural model where each stanza can choose its own unique line length, rhyme scheme, and metrical variation. This structural freedom allowed later Romantic poets, such as Wordsworth in 'Ode: Intimations of Immortality,' to alter the form's architecture to match changing emotional states.