Ode to the West Wind Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices

Ode to the West Wind
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves lifeless
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

Yellow, and black, and pale, and irritating red,
Pestilence-troubled multitudes: O thou,
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed

The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse inside its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow

Her clarion o’er the dreaming earth, and fill
(Driving candy buds like flocks to feed in air)
With residing colorations and odours simple and hill:

Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;
Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh hear!

II

Thou on whose stream, mid the steep sky’s commotion,
Loose clouds like earth’s decaying leaves are shed,
Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean,

Angels of rain and lightning: there are unfold
On the blue surface of thine aëry surge,
Like the bright hair uplifted from the head

Of some fierce Maenad, even from the dim verge
Of the horizon to the zenith’s height,
The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge

Of the demise year, to which this ultimate night
Will be the dome of a widespread sepulchre,
Vaulted with all thy congregated might

Of vapours, from whose stable atmosphere
Black rain, and fire, and hail will burst: oh hear!

III

Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams
The blue Mediterranean, wherein he lay,
Lull’d by the coil of his crystalline streams,

Beside a pumice isle in Baiae’s bay,
And saw in sleep vintage palaces and towers
Quivering in the wave’s intenser day,

All overgrown with azure moss and flowers
So sweet, the sense faints picturing them! Thou
For whose route the Atlantic’s level powers

Cleave themselves into chasms, while some distance below
The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear
The sapless foliage of the ocean, know

Thy voice, and unexpectedly grow grey with fear,
And tremble and despoil themselves: oh hear!

IV

If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;
If I have been a speedy cloud to fly with thee;
A wave to pant underneath thy strength, and share

The impulse of thy strength, handiest much less free
Than thou, O uncontrollable! If even
I were as in my boyhood, and could be

The comrade of thy wanderings over Heaven,
As then, whilst to outstrip thy skiey speed
Scarce seem’d a vision; I might ne’er have striven

As as a consequence with thee in prayer in my sore need.
Oh, raise me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!
I fall upon the thorns of existence! I bleed!

A heavy weight of hours has chain’d and bow’d
One too like thee: tameless, and speedy, and proud.

V

Make me thy lyre, whilst the forest is:
What if my leaves are falling like its own!
The tumult of thy potent harmonies

Will take from each a deep, autumnal tone,
Sweet although in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,
My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!

Drive my lifeless thoughts over the universe
Like wither’d leaves to quicken a brand new birth!
And, by the incantation of this verse,

Scatter, as from an unextinguish’d hearth
Ashes and sparks, my words amongst mankind!
Be through my lips to unawaken’d earth

The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be a long way behind?

Summary of Ode to the West Wind
Popularity of “Ode to the West Wind”: Percy Bysshe Shelley, a famous romantic poet, wrote ‘Ode to the West Wind’. It became first posted in 1820. The poem illustrates the most powerful impact of a particular wind. Also, it reveals the poet’s desire to utilize the robust West Wind as a medium to make people realize the importance of this natural blessing.
“Ode to the West Wind” As a Representative of Power: The poem manifests two important points; the electricity of the west wind and the strength of poetry. He calls the wind preserver, destructor, wild, musician and an agent of trade and appeals to the west wind to make him as robust as itself in order that he can spread his ripe thoughts and words across the globe. He also asks the wind to transform him right into a musical instrument so that he can play the track of his thoughts and thoughts to make the international aware of his presence. He adds, the effective west wind also brings wintry weather with it that symbolizes dying. But, he is hopeful about the spring so that it will carry new life after winter.
Major issues in “Ode to the West Wind”: Power, human boundaries and the natural global are the primary topics of this poem. The poet adores the power and grandeur of the west wind, and also desires that revolutionary thoughts should reach each nook of the universe.
Analysis of Literary Devices in “Ode to the West Wind”
The poet has used numerous literary devices to beautify the intended influences of her poem. Some of the predominant literary gadgets were analyzed below.

Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds within the same line together with the sound of /w/ in “O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being” and /g/ sound in “Thy voice, and abruptly grow grey with fear”.
Simile: It is a parent of speech used to examine an object or someone with something else. For example, “Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing”; “Each like a corpse within its grave”; “Loose clouds like earth’s decaying leaves are shed”.
Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to suggest thoughts and features, giving them symbolic meanings specific from literal meanings. “West wind” symbolizes the effective electricity of nature, “useless leaves” are symbols of dying and destruction, and “loss of life year” symbolizes the stop of the season.
Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive matters with their 5 senses. For example, “darkish wintery bed”, “yellow, and black and faded and annoying red” and “Angles of rain and lightning” are some examples of visible imagery. The images which include, “the trumpet of a prophecy”, “Black rain and fire and hail will burst” and “Her clarion” are the examples of auditory imagery. Similarly, “Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere” and “Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth Ashes and sparks” are the examples of kinetic imagery.
Personification: Personification is to offer human characteristics to inanimate gadgets. For example, “Destroyer and Preserver”, “Who chariotest”, “Thou who didst waken from his summer season dreams”, “The blue Mediterranean, in which he lay” and “thou breath of Autumn’s being” as if the wind is human that could dream, breathe and relaxation like a human being.
Anastrophe: It refers back to the reversal of the syntactically accurate order of subjects, verbs, and items in a sentence. Shelley has used anastrophe in the second line, “leaves useless” in preference to dead leaves.
Enjambment: It is described as a notion or clause that doesn't come to an end at a line break; rather, it movements over to the following line which includes;
“Cleave themselves into chasms, while some distance below
The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear
The sapless foliage of the ocean, know.”

The literary analysis suggests that suitable use of literary factors has made the poem, now not just idea-provoking however additionally explains the energy of human imagination and nature.

Analysis of Poetic Devices in “Ode to the West Wind”
Poetic and literary gadgets are the equal, however a few are used best in poetry. Here is the evaluation of a number of the poetic gadgets used on this poem.

Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. The poem is divided into 5 cantos (lengthy poem) with twenty-three stanzas in it. There are 4 tercets in every canto and one couplet.
Terza Rima: It is a 3 coated stanza in which first and the remaining line rhyme. For example,
“Her clarion o’er the dreaming earth, and fill
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living shades and odours simple and hill:”

Iambic Pentameter: It is a form of meter having 5 iambs in it. The poem follows iambic pentameter for example, “The winged seeds wherein they lie bloodless and low.”
Iambic Hexameter: It is a kind of meter having six iambs in line with line. The poem follows iambic hexameter for example, “Shook from the tangled boughs of heaven and ocean”.
Quotes to be Used
The lines said below can be used whilst teaching kids about the wintry weather season. These can also be used to describe any personal experience of taking a walk in the iciness.

“Yellow, and black, and light, and nerve-racking red,
Pestilence-afflicted multitudes: O thou,
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed.”