Horatian describes poetry or a poem that follows the style of the Roman poet Horace: calm, balanced, polished, and often reflective in tone. The word is especially common in Horatian ode, a lyric that tends to be regular, measured, and personal rather than grandly formal or highly emotional.
It is sometimes contrasted with Pindaric poetry, which is more soaring and elaborate.
Example
Evening settles over the harbor,
small boats tugging at their ropes;
I count the lamps, the gulls, the tide,
and choose a quieter kind of joy.