《西风颂》的意象赏析.doc

Name：段曦 Class：英语0901 Number：08 On the Image of Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind” As the most famous representative of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s thoughts and feelings, “ode to the west wind” sets up strong and powerful image of the west wind as the destroyer and the preserver, showing the poet’s critical attitude towards the ugly social reality of his days and his faith in a bright future for humanity. Part 1 (stanza 1~3) The effects of the west wind The first stanza begins with the alliteration (“wild West Wind”) which indicates that the wind is vigorous and powerful. The “Wild Spirit” is both“the Destroyer” and“the Preserver”. This autumnal wind is personified as human being (“breath of autumn’s being”), because only our humans have the revolutionary power to destroy the old society which is symbolized by “the leaves dead” and create a new world symbolized by “the winged seeds”. The second stanza describes the wind’s activity on the clouds in the sky. The “clouds” are “Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean” by the influence of the wind, getting together with the “black rain and fire and hail”, which probably heralds a revolutionary storm to ruin the corruptive old things. The third stanza focuses on the tremendous force of the wind on the waves. “The blue Mediterranean” symbolizes the rulers who were being lulled into a false sense of security in the 19th century by “his chrystalline streams” and “azure moss and flowers”. All this looks peaceful, but suddenly the peaceful waves are shaken by the west wind and ultimately are cleaved into the powerful tides (“the Atlantic’s level powers” Part 2 (stanza 4~5) The poet’s eagerness and optimistic belief In the fourth stanza, the first three sentences are in subjunctive mood. The poet applies the subjunctive to feel the power influenced by the wind (“share the impulse of thy strength”), to be free like the wind (“wandering over Heaven”), and to show his eagerness to enjoy the boundless uncontrollable spirit