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" – Complete Reading & In-Depth Analysis with Q&A
Written in a single sitting on a stormy October day in Florence in 1819, "Ode to the West Wind" is one of Shelley's most celebrated poems — and one of his most personal. Behind the extraordinary imagery of wind, leaves, clouds and waves lies a poet wrestling with grief, political despair, and his own creative powers.
The analysis examines the poem's structure as a five-part sonnet cycle in terza rima; the wind as both destroyer and preserver; the mixing of Christian and pagan imagery; Shelley's deeply conflicted self-portrait in Canto 4; and the remarkable final resolution in which he calls on the wind to scatter his words — his poetry — among mankind.
Along the way: the biographical context of 1819, including the deaths of his children and the Peterloo Massacre; the symbolic connection between the west wind and the spirit of revolution; and Shelley's profound belief in the power of poetry to change the world.
Ano Sensei (aka John R. Yamamoto-Wilson) holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and taught English literature at Sophia University, Tokyo, for many years.
0:00 Introduction & Canto 1: Reading
1:14 Canto 1: Analysis & context
4:13 Canto 2: Reading
5:00 Canto 2: Analysis
7:28 Canto 3: Reading
8:18 Canto 3: Analysis
9:11 Cantos 1–3: Round-up & Q&A pause
10:05 Canto 4: Reading
10:57 Canto 4: Analysis
13:35 Canto 5: Reading
14:43 Canto 5: Analysis & conclusion
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3 Comments
Beautiful!
Thank you!
0:00 Introduction & Canto 1: Reading
1:14 Canto 1: Analysis & context
4:13 Canto 2: Reading
5:00 Canto 2: Analysis
7:28 Canto 3: Reading
8:18 Canto 3: Analysis
9:11 Cantos 1–3: Round-up & Q&A pause
10:05 Canto 4: Reading
10:57 Canto 4: Analysis
13:35 Canto 5: Reading
14:43 Canto 5: Analysis & conclusion