Analysis of Ode to the West Wind

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Yuncheng University

2011-4-23

Abstract： Shelley eulogizes the west wind as a powerful phenomenon of nature that is both destroyer and preserver. The wind enjoys boundless freedom and has the power to spread messages far and wide. He expresses his eagerness to enjoy the boundless freedom from the reality. He gathers in his poem a wealth of symbolism, employs a structural art at its mightiest Key words: the west wind the revolution lyric image aesthetics

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摘要：雪莱讴歌西风作为有力的自然现象,既是破坏者,保护者。自由自在的风把信息传遍八方。作者表现出急切地想在现实中也享受这样无限的自由。在他的这首诗中,他将有引用丰富的象征意义,采用一种最强大的结构艺术。

关键字：西风 革命 抒情诗 意象

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Analysis of Ode to the West Wind

1. Introduction

This poem was basically written in a place where there was a forest near riverside in Florence in 1819. That day, it warmed then wind rose suddenly as if the rain was coming. It’s not out of my thought. The sundown arrived at and the storm began. At first clip has hail, accompanied by the peculiar thunder and lightning of Alps’ south. -- The author’s note

2. Background

―Ode to the west wind‖ is Shelley’s most outstanding poem among his works. When was it written? And where was? How the situation was that author was faced with?

Percy Bysshe Shelley was born at Field Place near Horsham in 1792. He was the eldest child of Sir Timothy Shelley, the M.P. for New Shoreham. He was an English poet. In his whole life, he had many famous works.

Eventually in 1922 he died in the ship Ariel, Viareggio, Italy due to accident – drowning.

At the time, European workers' movement and the revolutionary

occurred continually. In British working class fighting hard for their right to live smashed machine valiantly and launched the strikes against with the bourgeoisie. In other countries people proposed the protest for the bourgeois government’s bloody atrocities. At this moment, in a tempest of natural

landscape, this kind of uncontrollable fervor of the revolutionary immediately rushed out of the breast, plummeted, into a song of passionate and generous.

3. Structure

There

are many versions on the internet and I choose one that was 1

translated by Wang Zuoliang. It’s pretty good. Depend on it, we can realize it is concisely organized and well-structure. Then I can’t help asking how was the feeling the author would like to show up.

The whole poem has five sections and is divided two parts. The first part is from one to three section .This part is a paean to the west wind. The remaining two sections are the second part. The author shifts the description of the west wind to the expressive of his emotion. The poetry connected him into the poem—blends his inner mental with natural subjects.

The first section mainly praise that the west wind as the destructor and protector. Not only could the west wind sweep away the dead leaves—stand for the corrupted reactionary force, but also it could protect and sow the seeds, Only if thine azure sister to make everything live—stand for the thought of revolution eventually being spread.

The second section praise again the big power of sweeping the rotten, old world—stand for the power of revolution. It expanded from over ground to the upper airspace. The west wind scrolled the clouds, bringing the black rain and hailstorm and blaze so that it could bury the coming things.

The third section sweeps from the sky to the sea, implying that windstorm of the revolution would spread out everywhere. The west wind waked the blue Mediterranean and shocked the Atlantic. The turbulent mighty waves made the way for the west wind, grass shivering.

In the forth section, though the poetry was under affliction, he still

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hoped to be like the west wind holding waves, leaves, clouds. The west wind made him rouse and gain a new life. It implies the great wishes of poetry to involve the revolution.

In the last section, giving the poetry the west wind’s spirit—spirit fierce, impetuous one so that author’s thought spread away the mankind and waked up the earth. And the last two sentences show the bright future, full of the firm belief for the future.

4. Figures

Every time I read it, I’m always shocked by the author’s imagination. In the poem there are many writing skills such as metaphor, simile, symbolic and so on.

The symbolic meaning of the west wind is the regeneration which follows the destruction and death of winter. Spiritually, it is an abstract expression or manifestation of the spirit within nature, a driving force behind the truing wheel of the seasons and the cycles of life and death.

In ―The tumult of thy mighty harmonies‖, the tumult stands for the big sound, and the mighty harmonies stands for the powerful music. In ―Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone‖, the ―both‖ stands for both lyre and the forest, and ―autumnal tone‖ stands for being like autumn. In the ―sweet though in sadness, be thou, Spirit fierce‖, ―Spirit fierce‖ implies the violent revolutionary spirit. In ―My spirit, be thou me, impetuous one‖, ―impetuous‖

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means impulsive. In the ―Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth‖, ―withered‖ implies the dead. In the ―and, by the incantation of this verse‖, ―incantation‖ implies the magic power. In the ―scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth‖, ―scatter‖ means ―spread‖ and ―unextinguished hearth‖ implies ―burning‖ and ―fire‖

5. Comments

After analyzing the structure, we know it’s a romantic poem. So how do we understand?

It connects the description of natural subjects and the lyrical conveyance for the revolution. The west wind is the symbol of strength of the revolution. It’s the mantra that the west wind has the power to sweep the old rotten forces. The poem revel the objective law that the old forces are replaced by the new forces. In this poem, the poetry reflected the resentment to the reactionary, decayed forces and the confidence to the bright future.

6. Conclusion

Generally speaking, it is a very great poem for expressing his hope of the revolution. The poem is hard for us to understand completely, so we should do some researches about the culture information. In ―ode to the west wind‖, Percy Bysshe Shelley use the image of the west wind to express his beliefs, to inspire his soul, to wake up people to fight. Especially this sentence ―if winter

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comes, can spring be far behind?‖ has always be the slogan of the revolutionists.

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Bibliography：

[1] 李志斌，苏文箐.外国文学作品选.长江文学出版社，2010.

[2] 覃先美，李阳.英美修辞学概论.长沙：湖南师范大学出版社，2006.

[3] 王守仁.英国文学选读.高等教育出版社，2005.

[4] 辛中华.雪莱《西风颂》主题探索.内蒙古工业大学报，2007.

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第二篇：西风颂英文赏析

Appreciation of the Poem “Ode to the

West Wind”

Class Name Student Number

1 0801 Zhao Xiaoning 2008030112

Abstract... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...( 3) 摘要... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...( 4)

1. Introduction... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ( 5)

2. Appreciation to the Ode to the West Wind… … … … … … … ( 5 )

3. Conclusion… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ( 6)

4. Bibliography… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ( 7 )

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Abstract:

Ode to the West Wind is the most classical works of Shelley The poet came up with the thought when he is walking in a forest and a strong storm seemed to come soon. And the storm came together with wind and hails. In such weather Shelley thought of many things of the society. Under this atmosphere he wrote the poem “Ode to the West Wind”.

Key Words:

Lyric image aesthetics the west wind

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摘要：

《 西风颂》是雪莱最为经典的作品. 当诗人漫步于森林中，一场暴风雨即将来临，此时此景，诗人深有感触，当时正处于欧洲的革命风暴中，于是，千古名篇《西风颂》诞生了。

关键词

抒情诗

意象 美学 西风 4

1.Introduction

Ode to the West Wind is written by Percy Bysshe Shelley(1792～1822) , the famous British democracy poet, to express revolutionary enthusiasm and victory faith . The poem was written in 1819 when he was living in Italian. It conveyed the spirit of the times.

It is safe to say that anyone who read the poem will be inspired an influenced by it. As Shelley wanted the belief of reform and revolution to be heared, the wind became the horn to call people to fight for their freedom. Meanwhile the poem is also a lyric poem which the poet use many symbols to express his belief.

2.Appreciation to the Ode to the West Wind

It consists of five cantos . The poem Ode to the West Windcan be divided in two parts: the first three cantos and a The last two cantos The three can to scribing the wind's effects upon earth, air, and ocean. The last two cantos are Shelley speaking directly to the wind, asking for its power, to lift him like a leaf, a cloud or a wave and make him its companion in its wanderings.

In the first canto,west wind crushes dry weeeds and smashes rotten woods on land, sweeps the seeds into earth at the same time, and the poet highlights it as the destroyer and preserver. The withered leaves and the west wind are the main images. However, one must not think of this ?Ode’ as an optimistic praise of the wind; it is clearly associated with autumn.

In the second canto, the west wind sweeps the residual cloud in the air , and brings out the storm clouds.The second canto of the poem is much more fluid than the first one. Shelley employs the following images : cloud、rain、and lighting. Angels of rain and lighting is rightly the storm of revolution brought by the west wind，here by employ personification, it express the majestic momentum of the west wind.

In the third canto，the poet mainly chants the west wind, carefully describes the 5

power of the west wind in land, sea and air. Here, the blue Mediterranean symbols the rulers of the time，but they are sleeping in the beautifully scenery，in the crystalline streams, in the azure moss and flowers. Therefore, this part further shows the powerful strengths of break of the west wind. From the last two rows, we can see the old power will perish. This part, the poet combine the main images,the west wind ,with seawater, huge waves and old palace to express that the old world must be replaced by he new world.

In the forth canto, with turning the point, Shelley turn from ode to the west wind to express emotions, to convey his willing to dance with the west wing. The poet express his yearning for meeting the windstorm as the flying withered leaves in the wind, floating clouds and tumbling waver did. The poet makes preparation for the theme: longing for fighting, hoping for the future.

The last canto is the high tide of the poem, in it Shelley furtherly express the wind will destroy everything. “What if my leaves are falling like its own” express the poet resolution to sacrifice for the revolution. In this canto, by using Subjunctive mood again, Shelley express his strong disire -- Be thou,Spirit fierce,My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one! The last sentence"if winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" is known by everyone. It pronounce to people the result of the west wind as a destroyer and preserver，which is that dark will soon pass,light is in sight. This canto fully express the poet's firm faith in revolution and optimism of revolution.

3.Conclusion

Generally speaking, this is a very great poem. From the surface the poet seems to praise the west wind but actually he is expressing his view of the revolution. The poem is hard for us to understand thoroughly， so I just show a little thing about my understands. In 'Ode to the West Wind,' Percy Bysshe Shelley use the power of the west wind to express his beliefs, to inspire his soul, to wake up people to fight. Especially this sentence " If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" has always be the slogan of the revolutioners.

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4 Bibliography

[1] 李志斌、苏文菁《外国文学作品选》长江文学出版社，2012.

[2] 覃先美,李阳. 英美修辞学概论. 长沙:湖南师范大学出版社, 2006.

[3] 辛中华，雪莱《西风颂 》主题探索，内蒙古工业大学报.

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