Author: Ano Sensei
Format: Video
Subject Matter: change, nature, nature poetry, power, prophetic poetry, revolution, revolutionary verse, the sublime, wind
Related content:
Shelley, "Ode to the West Wind" - In-depth analysis of the symbolism, techniques and core meaning.
0:00 Introduction
0:11 Canto 1: Textual analysis
1:16 Canto 1: Context and comments
2:58 Canto 2: Textual analysis
4:37 Canto 2: Context and comments
5:28 Canto 3: ...Textual analysis
6:33 Round-up of cantos 1-3
7:20 Canto 4: Textual analysis
8:54 Context and comments
10:12 Canto 5: Textual analysis
11:08 Concluding comments
This video explains how Shelley describes the West Wind in his poem, focusing on its wild and unseen qualities and its role in nature. I discuss how the wind drives away dead leaves, carries seeds, and is connected to the changing seasons, providing a detailed description of the imagery used. This is an English story about poetry, exploring the rhythm and language of the poem.
This is a companion video to my dramatized reading of Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem (https://youtu.be/IOV5LqecTOI).
I have made in-depth videos on Keats's Odes (https://tinyurl.com/anokeats), Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" (https://tinyurl.com/anokubla), Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey" (https://tinyurl.com/anotintern) and many others. Subscribe/join and get the best poetry analysis videos on YouTube!
A Spanish-language version of this video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyBAt7xENHg%5D.
And here is a version in Italian: https://youtu.be/M8pPpb1T1nI
You can also see the reading and analysis combined as a playlist (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzVb6yL_jY68kvKQYjfOBXwK3NZyy0pCj).
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O Wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being,
Thou from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes ! O thou
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
The wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow
Her clarion o’er the dreaming earth, and fill
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living hues and odours plain and hill;
Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;
Destroyer and preserver; hear, O hear!
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 spread
On the blue surface of thine airy 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 dying year, to which this closing night
Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre,
Vaulted with all thy congregated might
Of vapours, from whose solid atmosphere
Black rain, and fire, and hail with burst: O hear!
The comrade of thy wanderings over heaven,
As then, when to outstrip thy skiey speed
Scarce seemed a vision―I would ne’er have striven
As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.
O! lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!
I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!
A heavy weight of hours has chained and bowed
One too like thee―tameless, and swift, and proud.
Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:
What if my leaves are falling like its own?
The tumult of thy mighty harmonies
Will take from both a deep autumnal tone,
Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,
My spirit ! Be thou me, impetuous one!
Drive my dead thoughts over the universe,
Like withered leaves, to quicken a new birth;
And, by the incantation of this verse,
Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth
Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
Be through my lips to unawakened earth
The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?Show More
230 Comments
Sir can you please answer a question that how does shelly embody the west as a metaphor of transformation and social renewal in his poem
Well, first of all let’s ask *whether* he embodies the west as a metaphor of transformation and social renewal, and then, perhaps, we can ask *how*.
And, can I clarify, do you mean “the west” or do you mean “the west wind”? If you mean “the west” then your question seems to carry overtones of postcolonial theorizing, and I would say that, while we could look at the poem in that way, I don’t think Shelley intended it in that way at all, so if that’s your question I would answer, “He doesn’t”.
But I think you probably wanted to ask about how he uses the west *wind*.
If that is your question then I would encourage you to listen very carefully to the section from 2:22 to 2:57, the section beginning at 4:38, and the final section, beginning at 11:08. These sections put the poem in the context of social protest and revolution and I talk about Shelley’s belief in the power of poetry to reform human society and change the world.
The wind, being both “Destroyer and preserver”, symbolizes the spirit of social reform – revolution, even – sweeping away the useless remnants of the dying year, spreading the seeds, and making way for new life.
I hope that helps!
Sir I was asking about the west wind.
Can u elaborate pls
@shoppingandfashionideasins7199 I’ve already elaborated as much as I can.
I love your analysis so much! It is so organized and structured while being so passionate and inspiring.
And your analysis is also very poetic! Your choice of words is so artistic and rhythmic, which made the video so enjoyable to watch. I believe this is the best way to lead people to literature.
@sherylli253 Wow! Thank you! I’m still making poetry videos, but – like most of us – I’ve been thrown a bit off-track recently by the pandemic. I hope to have more up soon, though!
Thank you sir 😊😊that’s how a poem should be learnt
You’re welcome. I’m glad it was useful!
Sir very well expressed, it is incredible the way you narrated the facts of Shelly’s life. Could you please make a video on meter and rhythm?
I’m glad you liked it! The poem is iambic pentameters, jazzed up with inverted feet and anapaests. I can try to make a video about it, but I’m working on other things right now, so it will take a bit of time!
Beautiful explanation
Thank you!
Many thanks!
You are most welcome!
Thank you very much I think it’s and excellent lesson!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it and found it useful.
Amazing!!
Thank you! Please check my other poetry videos on the “Ano sensei” channel!
This analysis is awesome
Thank you! Please check out my other poetry videos – they’re mostly awesome, though some are just mind-blowing!
Thank you very much.
You are welcome!
A very helpful video, it helped me prepare for my English Literature Exam! Thank you!
You are welcome! I hope you get a good grade!
Thank you!!!!! This video really helped me! 💛
I’m glad you found it useful!
really helpful and well done! thank you
Thanks for the feedback. I’ll be uploading more videos on poetry analysis soon!
A really interesting explanation. Thank you
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Thank youuu so much, Now i understand it clearly so happy
OK. Glad I could help!
this is amazing, great job! thank you so much it was very helpful and intersting
I’m very glad you enjoyed it and found it useful! Please subscribe to “Ano sensei!” for more poetry analysis and other topics!
Thank you very much sir it helped a lot in my examination
You are welcome! Check my channel for more “Ano sensei!” poetry videos.
@anosensei Sure I will but I need to rush my exam starts in an hour😅😅😅😅
Ha ha! Good luck!
@anosensei Thank You😇😇
Thank you so much sir, that was really clear and helpful🙏🏼
You are welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it and found it useful!
What music is in the background?
Credits are at the end of the video. This is Scherzo No. 1 by Chopin.
Thank you so much. It helped me a lot 💕
You’re welcome. I’m glad you found it useful!