Analysis Of O Wild West Wind Thou Breath Of Autumn's Being

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“O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being” (I, 1) is the call that the speaker starts the poem with. Evidently, in the very first line of the poem the wind is addressed directly and the reader is immediately introduced to it. In addition, this address is the first typical feature of odes found in the poem. According to Abrams, odes were mostly used to show utmost appreciation of a per¬son or abstract notions (198). Furthermore, an ode is “a long lyric poem that is serious in subject and treatment, elevated in style, and elaborate in its stanzaic structure” (Abrams 198). There are specific poetic tools the poet uses that identify the poem as an ode, particularly form, style, imagery, metaphors and word choice, and these are key aspects …show more content…

Another key figure of this specific poem is the wind, since it is already mentioned in the title. In the poem, the speaker asks the wind to “[d]rive [his] dead thoughts over the universe” (V, 63) and thus spread his ideas. In order to do so, the wind has to be strong and forceful. At the same time, we have certain evidence that the speaker has a political mes¬sage to communicate. This essay will argue that the poem is, in fact, about political change and revolution.
First of all, this essay will look at the West Wind itself, whose power can be seen as the power of revolution. Throughout the poem the wind is addressed as some sort of a higher being that is worthy of praise. It is remarkable, though, that the wind is not immedi¬ately characterised as an obviously perceptible entity. Instead, the description of the wind changes throughout the poem. In the first stanza, the wind is described as invisible: “whose unseen presence” (I, 2) indicates that the wind is hidden, but still there. Simultaneously, the wind is “moving everywhere” (I, 13) and also portrayed as …show more content…

In the beginning of the poem the speaker focusses entirely on the wind, whereas towards the end he begins to identify with the West Wind. First, the wind is described as moving “the leaves dead“ (I, 2) and stirring up “[t]he blue Mediterra¬nean” (III, 30). An interpretation of these lines is that the ideas of revolution, represented by both the leaves and the Mediterranean, are lying still and unnoticed, until the revolu¬tionary spirit (the wind) awakens them. It is noteworthy that the speaker is concerned with only the wind and does not bring his wishes into the poem. Afterwards, however, the speaker wishes to accompany the wind on its ways, which is the starting point of his identi¬fication with it, even though he does not fully identify with it yet. He wants to be “a dead leaf” (IV, 43), “a swift cloud” (IV, 44) or “[a] wave” (IV, 45), because all of these are car¬ried by the wind and part of what the wind is bringing along, which means that he some¬how wants to be part of the change. In the very last stanza, the speaker asks the wind to “[m]ake [him his] lyre” (V, 57). He is thus beginning to see himself as a component of the wind, an instrument to fully communicate what the wind stands for. As Haines explains, the speaker is fully identified with the wind; the wind is a part of him and he is a part of the wind (125). We can see this relation where the

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