Imagery in Ode to the West Wind by P.B.Shelley
Nilanjan 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 use of imagery in it. One may examine the excellence in the usage of imagery through the way it progresses from the beginning till the end.The poem commences with the imagery of the earth, shifting its attention to the air, then moving towards the water, and finally ending at the fire. Thus, the west wind affects all the four elements of the universe: earth, air, fire and water. All these images are conjured up in one thing-the poet-prophet figure.
Before discussing these four imageries, it is necessary, at first, to discuss the symbol of the west wind itself. The west wind symbolizes a force, may be of the God or Christ like figure or of any powerful might that could dominate even the most powerful elements-earth, air, fire, and water. The speaker wants to be both the west wind itself and the objects the west wind spreads.
The poet wants himself to be that force so that he may bring some revolution among the mankind.
As Shelley says:
“…Be thou, Spirit fierce,
My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!”
Also, the way in which the west wind carries leaves, seeds, ashes and sparks, he wants himself and his thoughts to be the objects to be spread:
“If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;
If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;
A wave to pant beneath thy power, and share
The impulse of thy strength, only less free
Than thou, O uncontrollable!”
This unique technique of the structure of the imagery used makes the poem Shelley’s masterpiece.
At first, there
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 use of imagery in it. One may examine the excellence in the usage of imagery through the way it progresses from the beginning till the end.The poem commences with the imagery of the earth, shifting its attention to the air, then moving towards the water, and finally ending at the fire. Thus, the west wind affects all the four elements of the universe: earth, air, fire and water. All these images are conjured up in one thing-the poet-prophet figure.
Before discussing these four imageries, it is necessary, at first, to discuss the symbol of the west wind itself. The west wind symbolizes a force, may be of the God or Christ like figure or of any powerful might that could dominate even the most powerful elements-earth, air, fire, and water. The speaker wants to be both the west wind itself and the objects the west wind spreads.
The poet wants himself to be that force so that he may bring some revolution among the mankind.
As Shelley says:
“…Be thou, Spirit fierce,
My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!”
Also, the way in which the west wind carries leaves, seeds, ashes and sparks, he wants himself and his thoughts to be the objects to be spread:
“If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;
If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;
A wave to pant beneath thy power, and share
The impulse of thy strength, only less free
Than thou, O uncontrollable!”
This unique technique of the structure of the imagery used makes the poem Shelley’s masterpiece.
At first, there