Ode to the West Wind By Percy Bysshe Shelley Born August 4, 1792, at Field Place, a place near...

Ode to the West Wind By Percy Bysshe Shelley

• Born August 4, 1792, at Field Place, a place near Horsham, Sussex, England. • One brother and four sisters• Went to Oxford University• First publication was a Gothic novel, Zastrozzi • He loped to Scotland with Harriet Westbrook, sixteen • The family line can be traced back to one of the followers of William of Normandy.• he challenged the authorities of Oxford, and for his publication of “ The Necessity of Atheism he was expelled from Oxford University.

"Percy Bysshe Shelley." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/179>.

The PoemI

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 5 Who chariotest to their dark wintry bedThe wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low, Each like a corpse within its grave, until Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill 10(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, O hear!

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Paraphrase

like a sorcerer might frighten away spirits, the wind scatters leaves.

the winds of inspiration make way for new talent and ideas by driving away the memories of the old

The colors named here might simply indicate the different shades of the leaves, but it is also possible to interpret the leaves as symbols of humanity's dying masses

the wind is a chariot that carries leaves and seeds to the cold earth

The leaves are people within their graves

The spring wind is feminine

the wind is the powerful spirit of nature that incorporates both destruction and continuing life

without destruction, life cannot continue

Gupta, Prasoon. "Ode to the West Wind." Creativeteensclub.org. Prasoon Gupta, 12 Mar. 2008. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://www.creativeteensclub.org/ctc/node/37>.

"610. Ode to the West Wind. Percy Bysshe Shelley. The Oxford Book of English Verse." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. <http://www.bartleby.com/101/610.html>.

Poem continuedII

Thou on whose stream, 'mid the steep sky's commotionLoose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed, Shook from the tangled boughs of heaven and ocean,Angels of rain and lightning! there are spreadOn the blue surface of thine airy surge, Like the bright hair uplifted from the headOf some fierce Mænad, even from the dim vergeOf the horizon to the zenith's height, The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge Of the dying year, to which this closing night Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre, Vaulted with all thy congregated might Of vapours, from whose solid atmosphere Black rain, and fire, and hail, will burst: O hear!

Paraphrase

The wind blows around the clouds and shakes rain from the heavens and the oceans.

The wail of the wind is a song of grief

As the year draws to a close, Nature prepares for the funeral

This last day ends in darkness, under storm clouds.

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Poem continued III

Thou who didst waken from his summer dreamsThe blue Mediterranean, where he lay, Lull'd by the coil of his crystàlline streams, Beside a pumice isle in Baiæ'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 powers Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear The sapless foliage of the ocean, know Thy voice, and suddenly grow gray with fear, And tremble and despoil themselves: O hear!

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Paraphrase

The Mediterranean Sea is smooth and tranquil, sleeping alongside the old Italian town of Baiae

the peace of the seascape reminds the West Wind of its power to churn up wild, whitecapped surf.

The lush sea foliage is aware of the wind's ability to destroy; remembering the havoc of cold weather storms, the vegetation is drained of color, as a person turns pale with fear, or as plant life on Earth fades in the fall

The natural cycles of death and regeneration continue underwater, with the aid of the West Wind.



Poem continuedIV

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 share The impulse of thy strength, only less freeThan 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 striven As thus with thee in prayer in my sore needO! 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'dOne too like thee—tameless, and swift, and proud.

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Paraphrase

If he were a dead leaf or a swift cloud, he would fly with the wind and share its power.

He would have more strength, like he was in his boyhood.

he used to "race" the wind and win, in his own mind. But now, as an older man, he could never imagine challenging the wind's power.

the patterns of sea, earth, and sky are recalled as he asks to be raised from his sorrows by the inspirational West Wind

his life experiences have been heavy crosses for him to bear and have weighed him down. And yet there still seem to be sparks of life and hope within him. He can still recall when he possessed many of the wind's powers and qualities.



Poem continuedV

Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is: What if my leaves are falling like its own? The tumult of thy mighty harmonies Will 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 earth The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

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he seems to accept his sorrows and sufferings; he realizes that the wind's power may allow him to add harmony to autumn's music. He is still sad, but he recognizes a sweetness in his pain: he is part of a natural cycle, and will have a chance to begin again as both man and poet.

The wind blew leaves over the forest floor, fertilizing the soil; now, he asks the wind to scatter his timeworn ideas and writings across the earth in hopes of inspiring new thoughts and works.

He is echoing the idea of the mind in creation is as a fading coal, which some invisible influence, like an inconstant wind, awakens to transitory brightness.

He asks to become the poet-prophet of the new season of renewal.

he has made his case and plea to assist the wind in the declaration of a new age but he has not yet received an answer. he breathlessly awaits a "yes", delivered on the wings of the wind.



Diction• The poem uses formal abstract vivid diction.• It does create vivid expressions by using semantics.

Tone and mood of poem• the emotion of awe and astonishment at the wind is conveyed. The Author creates an atmosphere of awe at what the wind does.• this poem is ecstatic • the poem invokes happiness and peace in us

"275. Ode to the West Wind. P. B. Shelley. The Golden Treasury." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://www.bartleby.com/106/275.html>.

Rhetorical Situation• Who is speaking? The speaker might be the author himself. • To whom? He is trying to invoke the west wind to hear him. • For what purpose? The author is intending to express his

ideas about the power, import, quality, and effect of aesthetic expression.

• Speaker’s relationship to us: We are being ignored by the speaker.


Figurative Language

• similies- compares seeds to a corpse within its grave. “The wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low, Each like a corpse within its grave”

• metaphor- compares the west wind to the breath of autumn. “O WILD West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being”

• personification- the year is given the human quality of death. “Thou dirge Of the dying year”


Imagery • Creates a picture of leaves flowing in the wind• Hear: wind blowing, leaves crinkling, and the

trumpet• Smell: rain, burning fire, and the ocean• Touch: wind and rain

• Rhyme: it has approximate repetition of final sound

• Repetition: Repetition of the letter “O” in context of “O Wild West Wind” and “O Wind”

• Alliteration: there is no repetition of consonant sound in the beginning of the word, however there is in the example: “Dead” and “Red”

• Onomatopoeic: there is no onomatopoeia

Structure • It has 5 stanzas

• The way this sonnet is structured is with “ABAB CB DEDE FE FG” form.

Conclusion

• The author of this poem did a good job at showing the impact of the wind and its power.

• It was very descriptive with lots of imagery.

• The rhyme scheme contributed to the poem because it was a subtle but effective way to rhyme. The rhyming was not overbearing and forced.

Personal reactions

• We thought that the poem was too long and drawn out but had a lot of description about the wind.

• The idea of the poem had relation to us because like Shelly, we have the same drive to spread our ideas.

Ode to the West Wind By Percy Bysshe Shelley Born August 4, 1792, at Field Place, a place near...

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