Ben Jonson (1572 or 1573-1637) was the first in England to begin writing odes. He patterned these works after the Greek odes of Pindar (522-442 B.C.), which are complex forms using irregular lines of text and include singing and dancing that were composed for public occasions. Similarly, Jonson and others produced Pindarian odes for important events in the life of a monarch or for St. Cecilia's Day celebrations. Set to music, the odes resemble cantatas.

Love's goddess sure was blind, of 1692, is the fourth of six odes Purcell set for the birthday celebration of Queen Mary II between 1689 and 1694. Composed while Purcell was working on The Fairy Queen, its forces include soprano, two altos, tenor, and bass soloists, with chorus and two recorders. The text for Love's goddess sure was blind, by Sir Charles Sedley, is sufficiently obsequious and flattering for the occasion. Sedley's text, the best we find in any of Purcell's odes, was printed later in 1692 in Gentleman's Journal, with an article giving the date of the first performance as April 29, 1692, the day before the Queen's birthday. This date, plus the intimate nature of the text and the conspicuous absence of trumpets and drums from the score, suggest that the ode may have been performed only privately for Mary, not at the grand celebration on April 30. (Trumpets appear in Purcell's other birthday odes.) Although Love's goddess sure was blind requires relatively few performers, they must be of the highest caliber.

Purcell opens Love's goddess sure was blind with a two-part overture, ending with a slow introduction to "Love's goddess sure," a transparent song for countertenor solo. The countertenor duet, "Sweetness of nature," is a light piece praising Queen Mary that is accompanied by the pair of treble recorders providing counterpoint above the voice parts. The ensuing soprano solo is answered by the chorus, which has little to sing, although the parts are difficult. Purcell supported the soprano solo, "May her blest example," with a ground bass derived from the Scottish melody, "Cold and Raw" which was one of Queen Mary's favorite songs. Over this the soprano sings continuous variations while the text describes both Mary's attempts at governing and some of the political unrest in England. After a chorus number calling for a long life for the Queen, a quartet of soloists closes with a curious text looking forward to Mary's death, "We below shall mourn / Our short but their eternal choice."

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