6.4 Ode to west windV英国文学导读.pdf

6.4 Ode to west wind Introduction Ode to the West Wind is one of Shelleys best known lyrics. It was composed in 1819 in Italy and first published in 1820 as part of the collection entitled Prometheus Unbound, A Lyrical Drama in Four Acts, With Other Poems. Inspired by the natural power exhibited by the weather and the revolutionary movement at the time, Shelley’s own uncontrollable revolutionary enthusiasm rushed out of his chest into this vehement lyric. the west wind -- a symbol of revolutionary force capable of destroying the old corrupt world to prepare the way for the new one Understanding the Poem The Form • The poem consists of five cantos, and each canto consists of four triplets rhymed ABA, BCB, CDC, DED, and a couplet rhymed EE, all metered in iambic pentameter. • The rhyme scheme in each part follows a pattern known as terza rima (which is an arrangement of triplets, especially in iambic pentameter, with the rhyme scheme aba bcb cdc etc., as in Dantes Divine Comedy ). The Content The first three cantos describe the winds powerful influence upon the earth, the air, and the ocean. In the last two cantos, the poet speaks directly to the wind, expressing his desire for being both the companion and the rival of the west wind, and the poem ends with an optimistic prediction that since winter days are here, spring cannot be very far. Canto I • O WILD West Wind, thou breath of Autumns being • Thou from whose unseen presence the leaves dead • Are driven like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, • • Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, • Pestilence-stricken multitudes! O thou • Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed • The wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low, • Each like a corpse within its grave,