An Analysis of Ode to the West Wind Essay - 1353 Words

An Analysis of Ode to the West Wind Shelleys Ode to the West Wind appears more complex at first than it really is because the poem is structured much like a long, complex sentence in which the main clause does not appear until the last of five fourteen line sections. The poems main idea is held in suspension for 56 lines before the reader sees exactly what Shelley is saying to the west wind, and why hes saying it. In the first four sections Shelley addresses the west wind in three different ways, each one evoking the winds power and beauty. And each section ends with Shelley asking the West Wind to hear, oh hear! The readers curiosity is therefore both aroused and suspended, because we know the west wind is supposed to†¦show more content†¦We only know that Shelley cries out, Destroyer and preserver: hear, oh, hear! (14) The second stanza shifts emphasis to another image, not the dead leaves of autumn and the wingà ¨d seeds that will germinate in the spring, but the roiling autumn clouds that promise storm and rain. This image is less complex than the wind that drives the leaves and seeds, because little is evoked except for the terrific power of the wind. It shakes the clouds from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean (17). Here, the clouds take on a leaf-like aspectemdash;a clever technique Shelley uses to connect the west wind of part one with the west wind of part two. The image in this second stanza focuses more clearly on the death of the year proclaimed by the powerful storms that the wind blows in. The clouds are Angels of rain and lightning (18) and, torn to shreds by the fierce wind, look Like the bright hair uplifted from the head/ Of some fierce Maenad (20, 21). The ominous, death-like aspect of the winds sound to Shelley like the dirge/ Of the dying year (23, 24). All of this emphasize s death, but also the power of the west wind to bring about vast change. So two features of the west wind have become clear in the first two stanzas: it destroys and preserves; it profoundly changes things. It is clear that Shelleys apostrophe is addressed to a powerful force, but we do not yet know why he asks it oh, hear! The mystery is only deepened in stanzaShow MoreRelatedEssay on Analysis of Ode to the West Wind1129 Words   |  5 Pagespentameter in terza rima formation. The rhyming pattern follows the form aba bcb cdc ded ee. According to Shelleys note, this poem was conceived and chiefly written in a wood that skirts the Arno, near Florence, and on a day when that tempestuous wind, whose temperature is at once mild and animating, was collecting the vapours which pour down the autumnal rains. They began, as I foresaw, at sunset with a violent tempest of hail and rain, attended that magnificent thunder and lightning peculiar toRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Ode Of The West Wind 1855 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"Ode to the West Wind†, using various literary devices, proposes the question: How does the speaker, or Percy Shelley, perceive the west wind and what relationship does Shelley wish to obtain with the west wind in order to achieve his main goal? In Shelley’s â€Å"Ode to the West Wind†, metaphors and similes, tone, and imagery reveal Shelley’s perception of the west wind as a powerful force of nature and his dire need to become like the wind in order to inspire the world that surrounds him. The firstRead More Ode To The West Wind Essay1549 Words   |  7 Pages Theme :- Inspiration in amp;#8220;Ode to the West Wind; amp;#8220;When composition begins, inspiration is already on the decline; - P. B. Shelley nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Shelley deals with the theme of inspiration in much of his work. However it is particularly apparent in amp;#8216;Ode to the West Windamp;#8217; where the wind is the source of his creativity. The cycles of death and rebirth are examined in an historical context with reference to The Bible. The word inspiration hasRead MoreAnalysis Of Percy Shelley s Frankenstein, Thomas Love Peacock And Lord Byron1486 Words   |  6 Pagesconcepts were not marginal based. The success of his works perhaps could be explained as to be able to occur by the time of his death when most people particularly the literature society of the English people began looking in to them in in-depth analysis. He is one of the people who failed to enjoy his works at the time of his life and his success now comes by to be seen at the time and three generations after his death. Just like everything good goes by, things have to have strengths and weaknessesRead Morecritical appreciation1066 Words   |  5 Pagescertainties... Context- The context gives us the time and location of the poem. It is what prompted the poem. The context might be an event of great political significance like the French Revolution. It prompted P.B. Shelley s famous, Ode to the West Wind. The poem beautifully upholds the spirit of the revolution and heralded the dawn of a new age. Language- The language of a poem is the very vehicle of its thoughts and ideas. Study the language in terms of the use of figures of speech,Read MorePercy Bysshe Shelley : Nature Poet Guided By A Rebellious Heart1918 Words   |  8 Pagesused them as a basis for his long poem Prometheus Unbound.16 In his poem The Cloud, he becomes the cloud. He symbolized his love for nature by manifesting himself as a part of nature.17 In Ode to the West Wind, Shelley likened his mind to that of leaves falling. The leaves fell, but then were lifted by the wind of thought. He knew and sought for the Divine, and he prayed for the energy of life.18 In his famous literary work The Defence of Reason, he distinguishes between reason and imagination.Read More Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Kerouac’s On the Road – The River and the Road3035 Words   |  13 Pagesdivision between east and west, between old and new, between complacency and hope. Sal Paradise reflects: â€Å"There is something brown and holy about the East, and California is white like washliness and empty headed† (Kerouac 79). The promise and hope of making an imprint upon the clean white pages of Californian history appeals to Paradise and is recognized as soon as he crosses the Mississippi River. For him the river is â€Å"the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future† (15). Read MoreRhetorical Devices3007 Words   |  13 Pagesis part of classical rhetoric and a number of rhetorical devices are worth considering in any analysis of style. For the analysis of literature a knowledge of rhetorical devices is indispensable, since there is often a considerable density of rhetorical figures and tropes which are important generators and qualifiers of meaning and effect. This is particularly the case in poetry. Especially the analysis of the use of imagery is important for any kind of literary text. (For further details see AnalysingRead MoreExtensive Reader4330 Words   |  18 PagesNevertheless, recognizing the beauty in the simple brain of this skylark, the speaker would be happy to know only â€Å"half its gladness,† seeking the ability to inspire others the way he was inspired by the bird. This poem goes hand-in-hand with â€Å"Ode to the West Wind† in that Shelley uses objects in nature as a catalyst for both inspiration and introspection as to what his own purpose is as poet. Immediately referring to the skylark as a â€Å"blithe spirit† makes the bird a supernatural object Shelley is dotingRead MoreEssay on The Gothic Genre and What it Entails6177 Words   |  25 Pages its intentional political relevance. Much of the canonical Romantic literature is inspired or informed by socio-political events. We need only look at Blakes work or key poems by second generation Romantics like Shelleys Ode to the West Wind or The Mask of Anarchy to verify this. The same is true of Romantic Gothic which arose around that unique period in European history posthumously defined by the French Revolution but significant for its trans-European massive