Ode to the West Wind
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou,
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bedThe winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blowHer clarion o’er the dreaming earth, and fill
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living hues and odours plain and hill:Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;
Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh hear!II
Thou on whose stream, mid the steep sky’s commotion,
Loose clouds like earth’s decaying leaves are shed,
Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean,Angels of rain and lightning: there are spread
On the blue surface of thine aëry surge,
Like the bright hair uplifted from the headOf some fierce Maenad, even from the dim verge
Of the horizon to the zenith’s height,
The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirgeOf the dying year, to which this closing night
Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre,
Vaulted with all thy congregated mightOf vapours, from whose solid atmosphere
Black rain, and fire, and hail will burst: oh hear!III
Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams
The blue Mediterranean, where he lay,
Lull’d by the coil of his crystalline streams,Beside a pumice isle in Baiae’s bay,
And saw in sleep old palaces and towers
Quivering within the wave’s intenser day,All overgrown with azure moss and flowers
So sweet, the sense faints picturing them! Thou
For whose path the Atlantic’s level powersCleave themselves into chasms, while far below
The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear
The sapless foliage of the ocean, knowThy voice, and suddenly grow gray with fear,
And tremble and despoil themselves: oh hear!IV
If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;
If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;
A wave to pant beneath thy power, and shareThe impulse of thy strength, only less free
Than thou, O uncontrollable! If even
I were as in my boyhood, and could beThe comrade of thy wanderings over Heaven,
As then, when to outstrip thy skiey speed
Scarce seem’d a vision; I would ne’er have strivenAs thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.
Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!
I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!A heavy weight of hours has chain’d and bow’d
One too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud.V
Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:
What if my leaves are falling like its own!
The tumult of thy mighty harmoniesWill take from both a deep, autumnal tone,
Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,
My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!Drive my dead thoughts over the universe
Like wither’d leaves to quicken a new birth!
And, by the incantation of this verse,Scatter, as from an unextinguish’d hearth
Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
Be through my lips to unawaken’d earthThe trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
Summary of Ode to the West Wind
- Popularity of “Ode to the West Wind”: Percy Bysshe Shelley, a famous romantic poet, wrote ‘Ode to the West Wind’. It was first published in 1820. The poem illustrates the most powerful impact of a specific wind. Also, it exhibits the poet’s desire to utilize the mighty West Wind as a medium to make people realize the importance of this natural blessing.
- “Ode to the West Wind” As a Representative of Power: The poem manifests two important points; the power of the west wind and the power of poetry. He calls the wind preserver, destructor, wild, musician and an agent of change and appeals to the west wind to make him as mighty as itself so that he can spread his ripe ideas and words across the globe. He also asks the wind to transform him into a musical instrument so that he can play the tune of his thoughts and ideas to make the world aware of his presence. He adds, the powerful west wind also brings winter with it that symbolizes death. But, he is hopeful about the spring that will bring new life after winter.
- Major themes in “Ode to the West Wind”: Power, human limitations and the natural world are the major themes of this poem. The poet adores the power and grandeur of the west wind, and also wishes that revolutionary ideas could reach every corner of the universe.
Analysis of Literary Devices in “Ode to the West Wind”
The poet has used various literary devices to enhance the intended impacts of her poem. Some of the major literary devices have been analyzed below.
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /w/ in “O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being” and /g/ sound in “Thy voice, and suddenly grow gray with fear”.
- Simile: It is a figure of speech used to compare an object or a person with something else. For example, “Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing”; “Each like a corpse within its grave”; “Loose clouds like earth’s decaying leaves are shed”.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from literal meanings. “West wind” symbolizes the mighty power of nature, “dead leaves” are symbols of death and destruction, and “dying year” symbolizes the end of the season.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things with their five senses. For example, “dark wintery bed”, “yellow, and black and pale and hectic red” and “Angles of rain and lightning” are some examples of visual imagery. The images such as, “the trumpet of a prophecy”, “Black rain and fire and hail will burst” and “Her clarion” are the examples of auditory imagery. Similarly, “Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere” and “Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth Ashes and sparks” are the examples of kinetic imagery.
- Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. For example, “Destroyer and Preserver”, “Who chariotest”, “Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams”, “The blue Mediterranean, where he lay” and “thou breath of Autumn’s being” as if the wind is human that can dream, breathe and rest like a human being.
- Anastrophe: It refers to the reversal of the syntactically correct order of subjects, verbs, and objects in a sentence. Shelley has used anastrophe in the second line, “leaves dead” instead of dead leaves.
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought or clause that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it moves over to the next line such as;
“Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below
The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear
The sapless foliage of the ocean, know.”
The literary analysis shows that appropriate use of literary elements has made the poem, not just thought-provoking but also explains the power of human imagination and nature.
Analysis of Poetic Devices in “Ode to the West Wind”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. The poem is divided into five cantos (long poem) with twenty-three stanzas in it. There are four tercets in each canto and one couplet.
- Terza Rima: It is a three lined stanza in which first and the last line rhyme. For example,
“Her clarion o’er the dreaming earth, and fill
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living hues and odours plain and hill:”
- Iambic Pentameter: It is a type of meter having five iambs in it. The poem follows iambic pentameter for example, “The winged seeds where they lie cold and low.”
- Iambic Hexameter: It is a type of meter having six iambs per line. The poem follows iambic hexameter for example, “Shook from the tangled boughs of heaven and ocean”.
Quotes to be Used
The lines stated below can be used when teaching children about the winter season. These could also be used to describe any personal experience of taking a walk in the winter.
“Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou,
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed.”
