Contents
Abstract… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …（第1页） 摘要… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …（第2页）
1.Introduction
1.1. The Poet… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … （第3页）
1.2. Creation Background… … … … … … … … … … … … … …（第3页）
1.3. The Poem… … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … （第3页）
2. Fundamental Information about the Poem … … … … … … … … （第4页）
3.Conclusion … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … …（第6页）
4. Bibliography … … … … … … … … … … … … … …… … …（第7页）
Abstract: “Ode to the West Wind” is the most famous lyric poem written by
English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelle in 1819, the poem used various rhetoric methods, the poet made the scene and his feeling melt together. Form the whole poem, we can see it describes the poet’s love for the nature, extols the great spirit of the west wind that plays the role not only as “destroyer” but also as “protector”, also expresses the poet’s optimism will to the future revolution.
Keywords: image; stanza; west wind; power
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摘要：《西风颂》是最著名的抒情诗，此诗是英国浪漫主义诗人1819年所作，诗中运用大量修辞手法，情景交融。通观全诗，我们不难看出，此诗表达了诗人对大自然的热爱之情，歌颂了西风既作为破坏者又扮演保卫者的双重角色的伟大精神，同时也传达了诗人对未来革命事业充满乐观愿望。
关键字：意象；节；西风；力量
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Introduction:
I. The Poet：
Percy Bysshe Shelle （1792-1822），who was born in a noble family in a county called Sue sarkozy si .In General English literature translation point, people called him “Shelley”, who is one of the most talented lyric poet, was regarded as the poet more poets. Once William Wordsworth called him as "One of the best artists of us all“，In the same time, gave him a title "Without exception the best and least selfish man I ever knew", He has extensive knowledge and is more of a great Plato idealist. His poems are very lively, positive with a lot of rhythms.
II. Creation Background:
It was an autumn afternoon in Florence, Italy, when the poet Shelley strolled in a suburban wood. Suddenly, the sky was blustery with dark clouds rolling over. In the evening, the storm came, cleaned the earth, shook the earth, while the hail and lightning was pouring, which triggered the poet’s inspiration, so “ode to the west wind” emerged. This thing was in 1819 when European workers' movement and the revolution were going on, British working class fought with the bourgeoisie for their right to make a living, they smashed the machines and strikes. In January, 1819, an armed uprising finally broke, on the eve of that day, Shelley gave the Spain people a carol for the revolution .In Italy and Greece, the national liberation movement is in the ascendant, Shelley's " ode to the west wind” published soon, since then the two countries broke a lot of armed struggles, which inspired Shelley so that he had hot passion towards the
revolution. From this we know it is the natural landscape that triggers the poet’s passion. III. The Poem:
This is a lyric poem, in which the poet turn to the west wind for help, treating it as a kind of symbol, in his heart, the west wind stands for the moral and the spirit, it can give people power. In addition, the various rhetoric methods make the poem impressive, vivid.
The poem has five stanzas, In every stanza, the first twelve lines use the form of terza rima and the last two lines make up a couplet. Each stanza rhyme arrangement is aba，bcb, cdc, ded, ee. According to its content, in fact, it can be easily divided into three levels. The first, second, third stanzas make up the first level, the last two stanzas each for 3
a level. The first level is developed from the earth, the sky, the ocean, which lead to the shifter, days turned & the tsunami and show a common image of old things. The huge destruction of west wind leaves a deep impress on readers. What’s more, the role as “protector” is more impressive. Its coming can bring a new scene, and all the old things will be gone. The poet describes his thought through the west wind, he wants to Fundamental Information about the poem :
At the beginning of the first stanza, the poet uses the personification, giving the west wind the image of a person, such as “breath; presence; driven”, next he uses simile “like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing”, here it is the “enchanter” that has the magic. Besides that, the poet also uses the symbolic method, in fact, “the leaves dead” stand for British reactionary chasses, “Pestilence-stricken multitudes” shows us the force & state of the classes. The west wind blows the desperate scene, at the same time, it brings the hope. From “The winged seeds” “Her clarion” it gives seeds the wing, on one hand, the poet is presenting the strength of the wind; on the other hand it emphasizes the poet’s hope, passion & optimistic will towards the revolution. Finally, “Wild Spirit”& “Destroyer and preserver”, the poet points out the main thought.
In the second stanza, “Loose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed” the poet describes the clouds just playing the same role as leaves in the last section. “angels of rain and lightning” the poet regards rain and lightning as angles, which symbolize good things, in other words, it’s the revolution storm, through describing them and the bright hair , we know the power of the wind. “Thou dirge of the dying year to which this closing night will be the dome of a vast sepulcher”, which stand for the decaying of the old forces. The west wind gives the poet light. In last sentence, the poet combines the wind with black rain, fire and hail to emphasize the elimination the old force is consequent and the revolution is an absolute success.
Leaving the earth and the sky behind, the poet pays his attention to the blue
Mediterranean, which presents a quiet, easeful circumstance. It is the wind that disturbs the silence and beauty, which stands for the peaceful life of the ruling class. They lead 4
happy, comfortable lives, ignoring the outer world and leaving themselves alone. As we all know, there must be a large storm after peace for a long time and it’s inevitable. From “And saw in sleep old palaces and towers”, in fact, it’s the wind that sees the old palaces and towers, which are the symbol of the old forces, and the wind is the revolution. “The Atlantic Cleave themselves into chasms” “The sapless foliage of the ocean grow gray with fear, tremble”, these words stress the power of the wind that means the force of the revolution.
All above, it almost explains pure thing, the poet just shows the power of the wind and has no feeling. Suddenly, in the fourth stanza, the poet turns his perspective to himself. The first three stanzas show the wind’s power, which stimulates the poet’s appreciation. “A dead leaf, a swift cloud and a wave”, here the poet uses subjunctive mood, theses things conveys his hope that he can share the impulse of the wind’s strength by himself .The poet just want to dance
following the wind that can destroy the old world and create a new picture. In other words, the poet wishes to join the revolution to overthrow the old forces. Even if the poet will suffer a lot of misery, he still wants to do it. Only the wind accepts him, can he bear any suffering. This is the heart of the poet.
Finally, he makes forwards a large step and pushes the poem to the climax. He speaks out his thought that he want to fuse him together with the wind through the “Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is”. “What if my leavers are falling like its own!” which illustrates the poet’s determination that he would like to sacrifice him. Even the wind can take from both a deep, autumnal tone, which gives us sadness but he still feels sweet. From the sentence “Be thou, Spirit fierce, my spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!” we can easily realize the poet’s strong desire. Though the wind can bring harm to people, the role as a protector is beyond doubt. Step be step, the poet expects his words to waken up the mankind, the earth. The last sentence “If Winter comes, can spring be far behind?” stands for the revolution spirit and also be the slogan of the revolution optimists.
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Conclusion:
The poem mainly tells the reader the wind as destroyer and protector, what’s more, the thesis statement is about the spirit that it encourages people to fight against the old forces and create a new world where there is no oppression but only freedom. Through its harm to the nature, by degrees, finally the poet point out his wish to blend him with the wind. In fact, the poet still praises the wind. From the things to the poet himself, the whole poem uses a lot of rhetoric methods, especially the simile, the
symbolism. The poet uses his rich imagination and outlines the image of the west wind, aiming at wakening the mankind. Ode to the West Wind is not only an autumn song but also a voice of times. The whole poem doesn’t directly describe the revolution but reflect the revolution all the way.
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Bibliography:
[1] Selected Reading in British Literature, Edited by Wang Shouren. Higher Education
Press, 2006;
[2]雪莱的《西风颂》赏析，作者袁思源; 成才之路期刊，20xx年第33期，
[3]《西风颂》的结构及思想意义，作者陆欣；1997.
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