Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind'

Percy Bysshe Shelley‟s „Ode to the West Wind‟ is often perceived as a classic encapsulation of the Romantic ideals and indeed it is a fierce tribute to the supremacy of nature. It is poem though, with much more meaning than can be easily understood on first reading- meaning largely created by the range of refined imagery flowing throughout. The literary techniques employed are not simply straightforward or common and individual metaphors that colour the writing with and toward one focus; Shelley has created a dense and layered web of imagery that gives life to/from which rise many separate and related ideas and interpretations. While the imagery in the poem is well interwoven, closer inspection reveals that many of the tropes used can be grouped into themes around which they are centred. Since its publication, scholars have discussed the ode in terms of nature, death, mortality and humanity, politics, religion and poetry itself. It can be read as a work where most, if not all, of these things are entwined. There are certain ongoing metonymies that shape the work, and allow the complexities of meaning to be written and realised. The wind‟s power over earth, sky and sea encompasses the other ideas presented in the seventy lines. Leaves, clouds and waves are used respectively to represent each of these elements, and serve to simplify them, giving each a solid, visual representation, thereby enabling Shelley to communicate with impact and in a language both accessible and beautiful. It is important to note the connotations given to these synecdoches. The leaves are described as „dead,‟ „decaying‟ and „withered,‟ blown with no means of resistance to the wind, and their regeneration dependent on the same force. There is here an implication of weakness, in sharp contrast to the „wild spirit.‟ I. J Kapstein describes the wind as being for Shelley representative of change, while the leaves signified “all things material and spiritual, ruled by Change” (pp. 1072). When the colour of falling leaves is described as “Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,” it is merely the surface layer- this negative combination of colours is most commonly interpreted in two ways, the first being that these are the colours of the four horsemen of the apocalypse- death rides the pale horse. The second is that the leaves are metaphors for all races (colours) of people, with another layer of connotations concerning the health of people- „pale‟ is often used metonymically to refer to a person‟s complexion when ill or in a state of shock, while „hectic‟ describes a state of fever associated with tuberculosis. Ziva Ben-Porat (pp. 35-36) finds this a key example of Shelley‟s tendency to bring out the „negative potential‟ in essentially neutral or ambiguous elements in the poem. Rather than describe the leaves as simply falling, or with warm autumnal colours, they are made to evoke fear and distress with terms used for human description rather than natural, eg „Pestilence stricken multitudes‟ or „the winged seeds, where they lie cold and low.‟ Seeds, of course, cannot feel „cold‟ yet they are described as doing so, in order to paint the phrase with the image of people in the earth, becoming more morbid in the next line: „each like a corpse within its grave.‟ The death and destruction that comes with winter links in to the discussion of the poet‟s own mortality. The leaves die and decay, and the „black rain, and fire, and hail‟ of the apocalyptically charged approaching storm will surely cause chaos and destroy life. These ideas are sealed with funereal imagery- the „dying year‟ is mournfully lamented, and fatefully entombed (a very human action) by the ferocious storm of the „closing night.‟ Nature‟s processes are meshed with those of selfconscious humanity. Emphasis though, is placed on the cycle of life- death comes only to clear space for new life and thus the earth remains strong and fresh. The poet, on the other hand, is being crushed by the weight of hours upon his life, his impermanence reinforced in the cry „I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!‟ a sharp metaphor which grieves the insignificance of individual human lives.

Amidst the tumultuous array of seemingly natural and eventful imagery, the silent remains of a majestic civilisation appear “beside a pumice isle in Baiae‟s bay” in the metonymic form of “old palaces and towers.” Baiae‟s bay is known to contain ancient Roman ruins underwater, and without too great an emphasis, this alludes to the fact that man can be conquered by nature; great cities can be forgotten, to be covered in seaweed and coral, the ocean‟s “moss and flowers.” These metaphors around the ocean are pleasant, but the calm is disturbed upon the return of the wind, more powerful than the Mediterranean that conceals the once dominant Roman city. Mankind is placed at the bottom of the scale, insignificant to the sea, and even less so to the wind. The remains though, can be seen as a symbol foreshadowing the demise of the old order- time makes societal progression inevitable- just as the Roman city is now powerless, so too will be the current (to Shelley‟s time) bureaucracy and establishments. Shelley‟s profile as a revolutionary gives birth to a political reading of the poem, as being a passionate commendation of the revolutionary movement of America, through the delineation of the „West Wind.‟ The leaves are people metaphor can be applied here, as the leaves representing the out-dated world and tyrannical governments, while the wind symbolises revolution. Shelley‟s own personal interest and role becomes evident as he asks that his words, his call for revolt be „the trumpet of a prophecy!‟ presumably a wake-up call to the sleeping masses. The very last line implies that the dark and wintry days of the old regime are coming to an end, as the healing brightness and freshness of „spring‟ draws closer. Though Shelley, characteristically of a Romantic poet, personally held no religious belief, this is not to say that he was not well educated in the beliefs and traditions of particularly Christian religions- a knowledge that surfaces unquestionably in the surprising number Christian references in the ode. The most initially striking is seen in the fourth verse; following the images of death in the third, a „clarion‟ is blown, which is typically a biblical sign of resurrection. The simile that follows „(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)‟ compares „Thine azure sister of spring‟ (the east wind) to the strong Christian symbol of a shepherd, taking care of the health of new life, as a shepherd cares for his flock. Here an interpretation can be drawn that Shelley is pointing to nature as the core of all human religions and understandings of self: that life, death and resurrection is a completely natural and earthly phenomenon. The traditional conception of wind as the breath of God is being challenged; it is the “breath of autumn,” the truth and essence of the natural world that gives life and should be appreciated. Coleman O Parsons (pp. 2) sees the ode as an “act of worship” he describes as “beautiful, sensuous” and “ethereal,” and refers to the wind‟s power as an “empire over earth air and water,” where the Christian references are used in order for the audience to comprehend his worship. It is argued though, that Shelley‟s purpose in using these same sources is to deliberately undermine them. The broad an powerful term “Destroyer and preserver” is thought (among other things) to be a transformation of the timeworn Anglican prayer recited by the priest in marriage, which reads “O Eternal God, Creator and Preserver,” contrasting the idealistically benevolent and caring god to the wind, presented as a harsh and realistic force of both creation and destruction (T Ware, pp. 3). Interpretations of „Ode to the West Wind‟ are countless, and can draw on one or all of the leading ideas, but the presence of so many usually unrelated junctions must be attributed to the skill of the poet in finding avenues to so tidily yet powerfully connect his concerns. Though mentioned here are only snippets of those aspects that comprise the work as a whole, it is clear that the arrangement and construction of thematic elements through artful imagery contributes largely to the strength and distinction of the poem.

References Ben-Porat, Z. Represented Reality and Literary Models: European Autumn on Israeli Soil. Poetics Today, Vol. 7, No. 1 (1986), pp. 29-58 Kapstein, I.J. „The Symbolism of the Wind and the Leaves in Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind"‟ PMLA, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Dec., 1936), pp. 1069-1079 Parsons, C.O. „Shelley‟s Prayer to the West Wind.‟ Keats-Shelley Journal, Vol. 11 (Winter, 1962), pp. 31-37 Ware, T. „Another Source for Shelley's "Destroyer and Preserver"‟ Keats-Shelley Journal, Vol. 40 (1991), pp. 22-23