Explanation of the poem ode to the west wind?

Answer 1

This poem begins with a description of the effects of the West Wind and its power to drive away dead leaves and carry everything into the winter, and with a quick comparison to its sister wind, the Spring. The poet then uses allusion to Greek myths to portray the force with which the West Wind ushers in the death of the year, and the stirring up of the peaceful summer and fall until it trembles under the strength of the wind.

At the beginning of the fourth section there is a shift. The poet then begins to speak in first person, expressing a desire to share in the wind's power and impulse, and be stirred up similarly. He compares himself to the wind, saying that though he was once young and as free as the wind, the chains of life have weighed him down so he is no longer free. He wishes to feel the spirit and strength that the wind has, so he will feel its spirit and be able to get rid of his dead thoughts and old self and share his words anew. His desire to evoke change is shown through his reference to a prophecy and the promise of a Spring - new hope - coming after this wind that brings in the winter.

Answer 2

Shelley's poem 'Ode to the West Wind' was composed in 1819 and first published the following year.

Many young people with socialist and democratic ideas (Shelley certainly belonged to this group) saw the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo [1815] as a setback for libertarian ideals. The French Revolution had been the revolt of the common man, Napoleon's defeat by a cabal of royal families seemed to be the triumph of the old anti-democratic ways.

Shelley writes a poem about how the Fall (the death of what is old) makes way for the Spring (the new ideas which seemed in 1819 to have been defeated).

Shelley was right. The bogus monarchy which England put back on the French throne after Waterloo would be in tatters within a generation.

But Shelley never lived to see that.

Answer 3

"Ode to the West Wind" by Percy Bysshe Shelley is a poem where the speaker calls upon the powerful west wind to spread his thoughts and words across the world. The wind represents change and transformation, and the poet uses it as a symbol of his desire for inspiration and renewal. The poem reflects Shelley's belief in the power of nature to bring about personal and societal change.

Answer 4

The poem describes the west wind in the Autumn or, as the Americans say, the Fall.

Answer 5

iambic pentameter

Answer 6

Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1819.