Ode to the West Wind: Blow My Mind

Tone plays a most pivotal role in the conveyance of meaning in Percy Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind”. While many other factors contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole and how the work is perceived, tone is the dominant device manipulated by Shelley to portray his anguish and internal sense of inferiority. However short his life may have been, Shelley was able to accomplish more in his thirty years than most people accomplish in a lifetime. He attended Oxford University, he rescues his first wife, Harriet, from the grip of her abusive father, and had a nice family with her (Marshall 729-741). Many things influenced his poetry such as ideas of revolution and a utopian society. He included many natural motifs from his childhood including water, trees, and grass to symbolize the simplistic power these things possess (Tomalin 1-30). Alongside his achievements are his shortcomings. Soon after he was admitted to Oxford he was expelled due to his openly atheistic views. In consequence, his family disowned him; however, he still maintained his idealistic and optimistic view towards life. Next he ran away from his wife with Mary Godwin. Leaving behind his suicidal wife and his young children, he married Mary and had a few children with her (Marshall 729-741). Pain and suffering accompanied Shelley during these years, but the fault is all his own. These self-inflicted tortures greatly affected his poetry, morphing his perspective into romantic understanding from his previous view of naïve hope (Tomalin 1-30).

Even as a man of brilliance, Shelley struggled greatly with inferiority complexes and a fear of the inability to express himself. Obviously he had nothing to fear, because his poems would not be cherished today if he w...

... middle of paper ...

...maintain a state of progress. Seek a higher power for assistance if your unable open up on your own. Beg the Wind to clear your mind as it “loose(s) the clouds” from clogging up the beautiful blue sky. Perfection cannot be achieved without the contribution from everyone part of society.

Works Cited

1. Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Views: Percy Bysshe Shelley . New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1-22. Print.

2. Tomalin, Claire. Shelley and his world. New York: Charles Scribner’s sons, 1980. 1-30,122-124. Print.

3. "TTM's Guidance for Studying English Literature." freehelpstoenglishliterature . Awesome inc., 01 Jan 2009. Web. 4 Apr 2011. .

4. Marshall, Kristine. Elements of literature. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1997. 729-741. Print.