Monday, June 29, 2009
Percy Blysshe Shelly on “Ode to the West Wind”
Upon using T.S. Elliot’s suggestion I decided to look at this piece with the intent of analyzing it for its essence and not to think about Shelly’s other works nor the history associated with the west wind, though I will use a bit of history to start off. Often the west wind is regarded as the most favorable wind. In some Native American tribes when songs start those singing will face west out of respect for what it brings. The other winds are also given names and titles of what they bear yet none is as revered as the west wind. The west wind brings forward change of seasons. Shelly shows this vividly in the first part. The emotion generated by this section is that of death. Even the most subtle text can show death with “Beside and pumice isle in Baiae’s Bay” (600) can show death. This could be an allusion towards Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii, the famous volcano that buried and preserving the city. But also the emotion that the idea that in an instant everything could be forgotten and no longer seen. Shelly is trying to convey that even though death is coming there is nothing to be afraid of. Shelly reassures us of this by how he ends the poem with “if winter comes, can spring be far behind?” (601). This idea of spring allows for the reader to be assured that even though death comes, life is right behind it. It is a cycle that repeats itself year after year thanks to the west wind. The emotion that Shelly channels here is that change happens even in nature.
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Robert,
ReplyDeleteGood experiment of applying Eliot's theory to Shelley's poem. I think you do a nice job here, although you perhaps inadvertently also point out the limitation of Eliot's approach--if you neglect Shelley's other works and his life, you might interpret the poem as one of death and rebirth of the poet, as opposed to the spread of his radical ideas.
Initially it made me laugh that you said you weren't going to use any background knowledge and then spent a good third of your post on background knowledge, but, like Dr. Glance, I think that shows an important point, really. The New Critical-type perspective that involves not looking at an author's past or the circumstances surrounding the book is definitely an incomplete perspective. Your post would not be nearly as interesting if you had not made a point of including that information about the west wind. And even though you had said you wouldn't, it's kind of irresistible to include that stuff, you know?
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