Page 187 - DENG105_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_II

Elective English–II

Notes that though he is proud and tameless and swift like the west wind has immobilized
him in chains and bowed him down.
• The poet asks the west wind to turn him into a lyre (a stringed instrument) in the same
way that the west wind’s mighty currents turn the forest into a lyre. And if the poet’s
leaves blow in the wind like those from the forest trees, there will be heard a deep
autumnal tone that is both sweet and sad. Be “my spirit,” the poet implores the wind.
“Be thou me” and drive my dead thoughts (like the dead leaves) across the universe
in order to prepare the way for new birth in the spring. The poet asks the wind to
scatter his words around the world, as if they were ashes from a burning fire. To the
unawakened earth, they will become blasts from a trumpet of prophecy. In other words,
the poet wants the wind to help him disseminate his views on politics, philosophy,
literature, and so on. The poet is encouraged that, although winter will soon arrive,
spring and rebirth will follow it.

14.7 Keywords

Clarion : Trumpet.
Skiey : is a neologism (coined word) whose two syllables maintain iambic
pentameter. The s in skiey alliterates with the s in speed, ....scarce,
seem’d, and striven.
Mænad : Wildly emotional woman who took part in the orgies of ....Dionysus,
the Greek God of wine and revelry.
Dirge : Funeral song.

Congregated : Gathered, mustered.

Answers: Self Assessment

1. (b) 2. (a) 3. (b) 4. (b)

14.8 Review Questions

1. Write an essay that attempts to answer whether Shelley succeeded in his goal to “scatter
. . . my words among mankind”? The essay will ....require you to read other works by
him and to research sources evaluating the impact of these works.
2. Shelley’s poem uses nature imagery to convey his theme. Write a poem of your own
that uses nature imagery to convey a theme.
3. The poem itself ends with a question – “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” (70).
Well, can it? What about in a metaphorical sense…can we assume that every kind of
decay and death that we compare to the desolation of winter will always result in a
rebirth?
4. Why is wildness so important here? The West Wind is wild, the clouds it blows around
are like the hair of crazy Mænads, and the speaker wishes he were also “uncontrollable.”
What can be created through wildness that isn’t possible with control? Why does a poem
that emphasizes wildness have such a controlled form and meter?
5. Why does this poem praise the West Wind? (As opposed to the East Wind, the North
Wind, or the Winter Wind...)

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