Ode To The West Wind Essay - 1549 Words

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 has several connotations that Shelley uses in this amp;#8216;Odeamp;#8217;. Inspiration is literally amp;#8216;taking in breathamp;#8217; and wind, breath, soul and inspiration are all identical or related in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. They are all†¦show more content†¦Coupled with the elusiveness of the wind to the human eye the effect is that the wind is an amp;#8220;uncontrollable; power that cannot be contained. In the fifth stanza Shelley refers to amp;#8220;the incantation of this verse;(l.65) - this is of pagan origins and he is invoking the wind to work through him. As a magician the wind works itamp;#8217;s magic throughout nature and i t knows no bounds as the earth, water and air all feel itamp;#8217;s power. The imagery associated with this suggests that Shelley expected his work to also spread over the universe, like the wind, and inspire others just as the wind was an inspiration to him. The amp;#8220;dead thoughts; he refers to could be the words he has written down that die as soon as they are recorded. Although not the source of his inspiration others could read them and experience what he felt in that wood that skirts the Arno. In the tradition of the sublime this description acts as a denial of sense perception and it is associated with an object of pure thought - an unknown power that animates all life. The wind is, therefore, seen as a spirit because of its lack of being. This spirit can only be known by itamp;#8217;s effects and we see those in the first stanza as amp;#8220;the leaves dead / Are driven amp;#8230; to their wintry bed;(ll. 2,3,6). The windamp;#8217;s role is to spread the dead leaves and this enables the seeds to spread and begin life anew. In this double role ofShow MoreRelatedOde to the West Wind2446 Words   |  10 PagesOde to the West Wind, Shelley invokes Zephyrus, the west wind, to free his dead thoughts and words, as from an unextinguished hearth / Ashes and sparks (63, 66-67), in order to prophesy a renaissance among humanity, to quicken a new birth (64). This ode, one of a few personal lyrics published with his great verse drama, Prometheus Unbound, identifies Shelley with his heroic, tormented Titan. By stealing fire from heaven, Prometheus enabled humanity to found civilization. In punishment,Read MoreOde to the West Wind Essay1102 Words   |  5 PagesThe wind is one of the most powerful forces known to man. It can do things that man has been envious of and also terrified of throughout the centuries. It is no wonder why Shelley decided to write a poem of praise in its name. Shelley writes this poem with the speaker being a poet himself frustrated tha t he can not tell the world the things that he feels the world needs to know. Throughout the poem he continually is describing what the wind can do and what he wishes the wind could do for him. ItRead MoreOde to the West Wind Essay655 Words   |  3 PagesWild West Wind An ode is a poem with extraordinary lyrics, aiming at loftier thought, and more complex formal structure than most lyrics. Another characteristic of an ode is that they are often addressed at something or someone. An ode is a long lyric poem, highly interested in a specific subject, tone, and style, often written to celebrate an event, person, being or power. In which in Ode to the West wind, Shelley describes the winds mighty power and fierce strength, for example in Ode toRead MoreOde to the West Wind Explication Percy Bysse Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind is a dramatization of600 Words   |  3 PagesOde to the West Wind Explication Percy Bysse Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind is a dramatization of man’s useless and â€Å"dead thoughts† (63) and Shelley’s desire from the Autumn wind to drive these â€Å"over the universe† (65) so that not only he but man can start anew. The thoughts are first compared to the leaves of trees but as the poem progresses the thoughts are paralleled with the clouds and finally the â€Å"sapless foliage of the ocean† (40). Shelley personifies himself with the seasons of the Earth andRead MoreImagery in Ode to the West Wind by P.B.Shelley1300 Words   |  6 PagesNilanjan Dutt Imagery in Shelley’s Ode To The West Wind Ode to the West Wind is a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley that shows the correspondence between the inner and the outer world of the poet. It is among his famous poems. The major theme of the poem is the poet’s intention to become a force that may bring the change and rejuvenation in man’s life. This theme is metaphorically shown by the rejuvenation of nature through the west wind as an agent. It is described through his excellent useRead MoreOde to the West Wind by Percy Shelley801 Words   |  3 PagesPhilosophical Poem. Shelley was in love with Goodwill and Mary Wollstonecraft’s daughter, Mary, and in 1814 they eloped to Europe. He was one of the epic poets of the 19th century. He the best known for classic anthology verse works such as Ode to the West Wind and The Masque of Anarchy (Shelley, Percy www.dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist). Percy was in a relationship with Harriet. Percy and Harriet had two children, daughter Elizabeth Lanthe born in (1813-1876) and son Charles born in 1814. Percy madeRead More An Analysis of Ode to the West Wind Essay1353 Words   |  6 PagesAn 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 differentRead 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 b ecome like the wind in order to inspire the world that surrounds him. The firstRead MoreEssay on Romanticism and Shelleys Ode to the West Wind985 Words   |  4 PagesRomanticism and Shelleys Ode to the West Wind       M.H. Abrams wrote, The Romantic period was eminently an age obsessed with fact of violent change (Revolution 659). And Percy Shelley is often thought of as the quintessential Romantic poet (Appelbaum x). The Ode to the West Wind expresses perfectly the aims and views of the Romantic period. Shelleys poem expresses the yearning for Genius. In the Romantic era, it was common to associate genius with an attendant spirit or forceRead MoreEssay 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 to