Page 44 - DENG202_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_III

Unit 4: Ode to the West Wind by P B Shelley

or natural, is constant, Shelley believed in a cyclical nature of the universe and of humanity and Notes
argued that man had the right and duty to live actively.
Some of the related poems with this theme are: Mutability, Mont Blanc, Ozymandias, The Mask of
Anarchy, Song to the Men of England, England in 1819 and Ode to the West Wind.

Narcissism/Vanity/Self

Richard Holmes’ biography on P B Shelley, Shelley: The Pursuit, greatly suggests that as driven as
Shelley was to motivate political and social change and overcome oppression; the changes he
encouraged barely went beyond changes that would benefit him.
Disagreements can be made for either side of the coin. Shelley can be seen as an absentee father,
an adulterous and selfish lover, and a treacherous countryman. On the other hand, he is a bard
devoted to unselfish goals and particularly freedom – calling upon a revolutionary voice much
eminent than his own – and a radical willing to give up his own status for the benefit of
humanity. On Shelley’s death, Byron, in response to John Murray’s elegy on Shelley, wrote,
“You are brutally mistaken about Shelley, who was without exception, the best and least selfish
man I ever knew. I never knew one who was not a beast in comparison.”
The vagueness is difficult to escape in Shelley’s poetry. Does Shelley see himself as a superior
being, primarily arrogant and patronising with his vigilante tone? Alternatively, is he, as speaker,
a metaphor for the voice of everyman?

Some of the related poems with this theme are: A Dirge, Hymn to Intellectual Beauty and Ode to the
West Wind, The Indian Serenade.

Immortality vs Mortality

Shelley did not challenge the seemingly scientific proof of mortality; however, he talked about
the notion of death in spirit. In his works, death was quite frequently represented through water
and references to Greek mythology were common. He is usually questioned both the future of
the Romantic voice and the immortality of other voices, for example, Greek and Roman myths,
Milton, Dante, Plato, and so on.
Some of the related poems with this theme are Mutability, Mont Blanc, Ozymandias, Ode to the West
Wind, Adonais and A Dirge.

4.2.2 Motifs

Autumn

Many of Shelley’s poems are set in autumn, including Ode to the West Wind and Hymn to Intellectual
Beauty. Fall or autumn is a time of both beauty and death, and is a great example of nature’s both
the creative and devastating powers. As a time of change, autumn is an appropriate setting for
Shelley’s vision of social and political revolution. In Ode to the West Wind, autumn’s vivid
colours and violent winds emphasise the intense and passionate nature of the poet, while the
degeneration and death intrinsic in the season suggest the suffering and sacrifice of the Christ-
like poet.

Ghosts and Spirits

Shelley’s interest in the supernatural frequently appears in his writings. The spirits and ghosts
in his poems indicate the likelihood of seeing a world outside the one in which we live. In Hymn

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 39