Ode to The West Wind Questions and Answers Pdf Download
1. State the leading thought of the poem Ode to The West Wind.
‘Ode to the West Wind is an invocation to the West Wind is an invocation to the spirit of the West Wind in its twosild capacity as a destroyer and preserver. The poet celebrates here the uncontrollable Wer of the west wind. He describes its activities on the land, in the sky and on the sea .
Everywhere the west wind is a great force. The poet seeks inspiration from the tremendous power of the West Wind. He finds a close kinship of his own mind with the mighty wind. He, too, has the revolutionary vision of a new world of love. peace and happiness. But the circumstances of his life are too hard to allow him to fulfil this vision. He needs the help of the wind to re-animate himself.
It will then not be impossible for the poet to give out a new message of hope to mankind. The poet s quite confident of the coming of a bright future after the end of the dark present. He sees beyond the present dark winter the dawn of a happy spring on humanity.
2.Why is the wild west wind called Destroyer and Preserver”? What does Shelley expect from the “Spirit fierce”, as it becomes his spirit?
Shelley is fascinated by the two-fold power of the wind. The wind is a destroyer. It is a preserver, too. It is a destroyer, because it drives away dry, dead leaves. It carries the seeds away to their resting place for regeneration. The wind destroys forcefully the dead leaves and plants during autumn. But it stores the seeds for their sprouting in spring. Winter ends. Spring comes. The earth, again, becomes lovely with plants and leaves and flowers. The west wind helps this rebirth. Here it is a preserver.
Shelley expects to give a new message of cheer and hope to the world, as the spirit fierce of the wind’ becomes his spirit fierce, too. The poet is haunted with a sense of incapacity and frustration. He pines for inspiration and strength. The wind is a force of death and rebirth. He wishes to feel in his own self the power of the wind. Let the firece spirit of the wind be his guiding and inspiring spirit. He will then certainly give a stirring message of joy and hope to this erring world, lost in apathy and inactivity.
3. “I would ne’er have striven. As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.” What are the poet’s sore need and his prayer?
Or,
Why does the poet pray to the Wind? What is his prayer?
Shelley appeals to the west wind for help. He finds himself helpless in the present situation of his life. Life has become extremely boring and painful to him. He isbleeding in the thorns of life. He stands in the sore need of some relief. His visions and ideals are all withering away. He cannot translate them into reality for his lack of sufficient vitality. But his thoughts and visions have a great potency. They may bring about the millennium of humanity. What he needs is the stimulating force of the wind And so the poet appeals to the wind to animate him with its vitality.
In Ode to the West Wind, Shelley appeals to the wind to animate him with its vitality. The wind drives away the dry and dead leaves of the forest to quicken the birth of a new spring. The poet seeks ministration from it. Let the wind blow over him. Let it bring out of him a sweet though sad music. He appeals to the west wind to scatter his lofty ideas and visions all over the world. The poet lacks sufficient vigour and energy to fulfil the dream of his life. So he entreats the west wind to energize him. He may then give out a new message of hope and joy to the dark, dismal and erring world.
4. How has the west wind act as a destroyer and preserver on the Land?
In his poem Ode to the West Wind, Shelley makes an impulsive address to the west wind which he looks upon as a wild, uncontrollable force. In connection with the function of the west wind on the land, as a destroyer and preserver, he speaks this out.
The wind carries away, with a violent rush, dry, dead leaves and thereby brings about their total extinction. The wind is characterised as the very breath of autumn, as this begins to blow forcefully at the end of the season. The wind is, no doubt, invisible, but in its terrific motion the diverse coloured leaves-yellow, black, pale and hectic red-are seen. Those leaves look like ghosts, driven away by some enchanter. The pale worn out leaves also appear like some epidemic affected masses in a strained situation.
5. How does West Wind cause devastation in the sky?
The poet describes in the second stanza majestic role of the wind in the sky, as a fierce, dreadful force. He, in this connection, draws a vivid picture of the sky, with thick black clouds all over and the terrible threat of an impending strom.
The west wind, in its destructive fury, is in the sky. The poet draws a precise image to present the dreadful state of the sky, caused by the violent wind. The sky seems threatened with an impending storm under the blow of the west wind. This is covered with thick dark clouds all over. these clouds are spread from the faint, distant horizon to the topmost position of the sky. The condition of the sky, full of loose, thickly dark clouds, flying here and there forcefully, is described graphically by the poet by means of an imagery, taken from the classical legend.
The Maenad is the woman worshipper of Bacchus—the Greek god of wine. On the occasion of the festive day of Bacchus, such women worshippers used to get themselves heavilydunk. They moved about, in a frenzied mood, with their dried, dishevelled and swiming hair. The dark wind-tossed clouds are compared to the bright black locks of the Maenad.
Shelley’s imagery here is found conceived with a rare imaginative power and a highly poetic sensibility. The poet’s picture is all vivid and vigorous. The threatening state of the sky, caused by the violent wind, is clearly shown. The poet’s reference to the Maenad indicates his interest in classical mythologies and legends. The comparison is well conceived.
6. What appeal does the poet make to the west wind? Discuss with reference to the above lines?
The lines are extracted from Shelley’s celebrated lyric, ‘Ode to the West Wind! The poem is an invocation to the spirit of the wind in its two-fold aspect as a destroyer and preserver. After describing the activities of the wind, on the sea, on the land and in the sky, the poet makes here a fervent appeal to it.
The west wind carries away dry, dead leaves. It also bears and scatters here and there, in the sky, loose dark clouds. Again, it strikes tremendously at the rolling waves of the sea and drives them away forcefully. The poet makes an intense entreaty to the wind to relieve and release him from his present state of agony and misery. He is subjected to the acute pang of life, suffers terribly and requires an immediate relief.
The poet appeals to the wind to give him relief and release him from his present suffering. After all, he has much affinity with the wind. He bears in him its uncontrollable, impulsive and forceful nature. Unfortunately, the circumstances of his life are too hard and oppressive and that is why he requires the healing touch of the wind in order to rise above his present wretchedness and helplessness.
The lines reveal a characteristic Shelleyan aspect which is his personal despondency. The note of melancholy, heard here, is perfectly characteristic of romantic poetry. Moreover, subjectivity, an essential requirement in lyrical poetry, is here also clearly perceived.
7. “O Wind, If Winter comes, can spring be far behind?” – Bring out the poet’s message of optimism here.
These are the concluding lines of Shelley’s famous lyric, ‘Ode to the West Wind The poet has already made a fervent appeal to the wind to animate and inspire him. Here he explains his objective to seek his animation and in this connection gives out his prophetic vision.
Shelley entreats the wind to imbue him with its spirit. He requires this to give out a new message of joy and hope to the human world which seems yet lost in the coldness of doubt and the darkness of despair. The poet is eager for striking a starklyprophetic note through his stirring poetry by means of which he seeks to awaken the dormant and despondent human world.
Just as the wind scatters away dry, dest leaves in order to bring about a rebirth in the world of nature in spring, it may similarly impel him to express in his poetry a new vision of joy and hope. Inspires by the wind, he is certain to enlighten the world by his verse, just as ashes and sparks, from a dying fireplace, serve to light up a dark room. Shelley is quite definite of the dawn of a bright future after the end of the dark present. After all, changes are constant and the very law of nature.
Winter is, no doubt, hard, long and dreary, but it must pass away ere long and make room for spring to come. This is the inevitable law of nature. In the same way, Shelley believes that spring in humanity is to come soon surely, and the winter of sorrow and despair is all to be swept away.
The expression echoes Shelley’s memorable prophecy of the coming of a better world after the end of the present one. This constitutes his poetic view of the millennium to come. Shelley is found to exploit here the Christian myth of the millennium to give out his own socio-political revolutionary idea of a better state of affairs after the present period of degeneration.
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