How did William Congreve’s Discourse on the Pindarique Ode influence Pindaric poetry?

William Congreve’s Discourse on the Pindarique Ode (1706) influenced Pindaric poetry by bringing order to the form, which had become "wildly unrestrained" following the work of Abraham Cowley.2

Prior to Congreve’s intervention, the English adaptation of the Pindaric ode—often referred to as "spurious Pindarics"—featured irregular rhymed stanzas with capriciously varied line lengths. By providing a critical framework for the genre, Congreve helped stabilize the structure of these odes, moving them away from the excessive irregularity that had characterized the style since Cowley’s 1656 collection.12