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P.B.SHELLEY
Shelley was born in 1792 in Sussex, England and was the so of a rich landowner. He was
educated at Eton and Oxford. For the independence of his thoughts, he was expelled from
Oxford and disowned by his father. In 1818 Shelley left England for Italy where he lived
for the rest of his life. He was always ready to fight tyranny. On 8th July 1822, he was
drowned when his boat was caught in a storm. Ode to the West Wind is a poem addressed
to the west wind. Ode is a poem addressed to a person, a treasured object or even to a
God. Odes are usually in rhyme and seldom longer than 150 words.
Personification:
Symbolism:
Metaphor:
1. Breath of autumn’s being.
2. Hectic –red, pestilence-stricken multitudes.
3. The winged seeds
4. Azure sister of the spring.
5. Destroyer and preserver.
6. Sky’s commotion
7. Angels of rain and lighting.
8. Thine aery surge.
9. The locks of approaching storm
10. Dirge of the dying year.
11. Dome of vast sepulcher.
12. Congregated might.
13. Atlantic’s level powers.
14. A dead leaf.
15. A wave to pant.
16. Uncontrollable
17. Comrade of thy wanderings.
18. Deep autumnal tone.
19. Trumpet of prophecy.
20. Make me thy lyre.
21. Tangled boughs of Heaven and ocean.
22. The locks of approaching storm.
Alliteration
1. Wild west wind.
2. Baiae’s bay
3. Grow gray with fear
4. Skiey speed scarce seem’d a vision.
Ode to the west wind was written on a blustery day in l819, while Shelley was
walking in the forest that skirts the Arno near Florence, Italy. In it Shelley addresses
an autumn wind known in the region as Assoils. The Shelley of late 1819 was one
bowed beneath the sorrows of his personal life and lite5rary career. Yet he was also
recovering his courage secure in the conviction that good can triumph over evil and
love over hate and tortures and that so long as the human will remains strong the hour
of triumph will come around just as the seasons come round in turn. It is this belief of
Shelley that finds expression in this ode. Being an ode, it is elaborately structured –
consisting of five mains parts. The stanza form of each part is a highly original
invention consisting of fourteen lines. Within this framework, the substance of the
poem is arranged symbolically. The first three stanzas might be entitled “the leaf”,
‘the cloud’, the wave’ – leaf, cloud and wave – are drawn together and shown as
symbols of himself- Shelley the poet. In stanza V he ends with and invocation, a
prayer that the wind which is both a destroyer and preserver may spread his prophetic
message of regeneration to all mankind. The wind is implored to he a trumpet of the
poet’s prophecy that the future will be brighter place and a happier world to live in.
Stanza I describes the wind’s effects on the land. Shelley begins by addressing the
wind as ‘wild and as the very soul of autumn –the season in which it blows. When it
blows, ‘its unseen presence’ scatters the withered leaves like a sorcerer might frighten
away sprites. Lines 4 and 5 indicate the different shades of the decaying leaves –
yellow, black, pale and even red – they are all diseased and withered . The wind is
then described as a chariot that carries the leaves and seeds to the cold earth. The
comparison gives the impression that the wind has characteristics similar to those
who are associated with chariots – gods and powerful rulers. The winged seeds lie
dormant throughout winter –each like a corpse within its grave. The winged seeds and
leaves are thus personified as people within their graves – they lie there till winter is
over and nature is reawakened by the Spring Wind. Shelley refer to the Spring Wind
as the feminine equivalent of the masculine West wind (thine azure sister) and
stresses its role as nurturer and life –giver. It is pictured as awakening nature with her
energetic ‘clarion’. The dormant seeds which sprout in spring full the entire surface of
the earth; with colourful and fragrant blossoms – which are compared to flocks of
sheep feeding on the warm spring air. The concluding line of the first stanza identify
the West wind as an inspiring power that moves everywhere and affects everything- a
powerful spirit of nature that incorporates both destruction as will as continuing life –
two processes that are in fact related as without destruction life cannot continue. The
concluding phrase ‘oh hear’ is repeated at the end of stanza 2 and 3. This refrain
appropriately emphasizes sound – as the wind is an invisible force that can only be
heard.