The analysis of Ode to the West Wind

鄭艷紅

【Abstract】Percy Bysshe Shelleys Ode to the West Wind is a treasure of the European poetry. Ode to the West Wind， as far as Im concerned， is not a poem to describe nature， but it is a political lyric one. Shelly used symbolism in this poetry. Dependent on the symbolic meaning of the west wind， Shelley expressed his strong determination to seek for the revolution and absolute confidence in its victory.

【Key words】the west wind； imagery； poetic devices

Ode to the West Wind is the most famous lyric poem written by Shelley. From the poem we can see many images are used， such as “the dead leaves， the cloud and the wave”， and they all help to describe the west winds power. The poem was written in 1819 when European workers movement and the revolution were going on. British working class fought with the bourgeoisie for their right to make a living. Concerning this fact we can see that the west wind is not only a image， it is a symbol. In this poem， the poet turns to the west wind for help， because the west wind stands for the moral and the spirit， it can give people power.

The poem is a ode. The stanza used in this ode was developed by Shelley from the interlaced three-line units of the Italian terza rima： aba bcb cdc and so on. Shelleys stanza consists of a set of four such tercets， closed by a couplet rhyming with the middle line of the preceding tercet： aba bab cdc ded ee. This kind of rhyme breaks the old rule and describes the west winds great power vividly. In the whole poem， the author makes full use of the significant poetic devices， including apostrophe， personification， imagery， and so on. In my thesis， we will focus on them， and analyze each stanza one by one.

In the first stanza， the poet begins with the alliteration “wild West Wind”. The first section is fairly straightforward with constant references to death， corpse and destruction that Shelly uses as a metaphor for autumn. The allusion to disease and darkness describes the West Wind in this first section. In the last line of this stanza the west wind is considered the “Destroyer” because it drives the last signs of life from the trees， and the “Preserver” for scattering the seeds which will come to life in the spring. The most noteworthy is Shelly is a painter who uses dazzling colors to represent the two different seasons.

In the second section Shelly takes a more lofty perspective in the beginning mentioning “heaven” and “angels” and then moves to give a depiction of hell in the last line of the section with “black rain， and fire， and hail will burst”. To be a little more precise， the second section is one comparing an oncoming storm to the end of a year. Perhaps Shelly feels that the next year will not be as good as the last and one can even speculate that the west winds are the winds of change or even of evil. Shelley put his focus on the wind brewing up in the heavens. The wind helps the clouds shed rain. Just as it had the trees shed leaves in the previous section. Just as the dead foliage nourishes new life in the forest soil， so does the rain contribute to natures regenerative cycle. In this stanza， the sky is becoming noisy under the west wind； the “clouds” is resembled to a Maenads bright hair flowing everywhere under the wind； the wind is compared to a song of grief， as if it were mourning the “dying” year.

In the third stanza， “the blue Mediterranean” symbolizes the archons. The west wind is so powerful that nearly wakes up the sound sleepy archons， announcing the revolution is on the way that the decaying reactionary will be overturned. “Palaces and towers” symbolize monarchical government. The wind is described to be awakened from a place of peace and beauty. From what is known of the “wind” from the last two stanzas， it became clear that the “wind” is something that plays the role of a Creator. The last effect of the wind is on the sea， unlike previous two effects， this one is calm， peaceful and sensuality. The Mediterranean Sea is described as smooth and tranquil alongside Italian town of Baiae. There is an underwater world and the wind produce illusions on the water. With its pressure， the wind “would waken the appearance of a city”. On the other hand， all these are disturbed by the wind： the Atlantic had to cleave themselves into chasms， and the oozy woods resemble their voice. The wind is so powerful we can feel the poets great confidence in revolution.

Whereas the stanzas one to three start with “O wild West Wind” and “Thou...” and are clearly directed to the wind， there is a change in the fourth stanza. The focus is no more on the “wind”， but on the speaker who says “If I...”. Until this part， the poem has appeared very anonymous and was only concentrated on the “wind” and its forces so that the author of the poem was more or less forgotten. It becomes more and more clear that what the author talks about now is himself. That must be true， shows the frequency of the authors use of the first-person pronouns “I”， “my” and “me”. These pronouns appear nine times in the fourth stanza. Shelley here identifies himself with the wind， although he knows that he can not do that. He knows that this is something impossible to achieve， but he does not stop praying for it. Shelley also changes his use of metaphors in this stanza. In the first stanzas the wind was a metaphor explained at full length. Now the metaphors are only weakly presented – “the thorns of life”.

In the last stanza the wind is now capable of using both of these things mentioned before. Everything that had been said before， was part of the elements – wind， earth and water. Now the fourth element comes in： the fire. There is also a confrontation in this stanza： whereas in line 57 Shelley writes “me thy”， there is “thou me” in line 62. It is also necessary to mention that the first-person pronouns again appear in a great frequency； but the possessive pronoun “my” predominates. Unlike the frequent use of the “I” in the previous stanza that made the stanza sound self-conscious， this stanza might now sound self-possessed. The stanza is no more a request or a prayer as it had been in the fourth stanza – it is a demand. The poet becomes the winds instrument – his “l(fā)yre”. This is a symbol of the poets own passivity towards the wind； he becomes his musician and the winds breath becomes his breath. At last， Shelley again calls the Wind in a kind of prayer and even wants him to be his Spirit： he says： “My spirit！ Be thou me， impetuous one！”. At the end of the last stanza， “If Winter comes， can Spring be far behind？”， which provides us a question. And the question provides us an open ending.

In the poem， the poet describes vividly the activities of the West Wind on the earth， in the sky and on the sea， and then expresses his envy for the boundless freedom of the West Wind and his wish to be free like the wind and wants his message of reform and revolution spread， and the wind becomes the trope for spreading the word of change through the poet-prophet figure. The celebrated final line of the poem， “If Winter comes， can Spring be far behind？”illustrated Shelleys optimistic belief in the future of mankind.

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