“Ode to the West Wind” is a poem written by the English Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley. According to Shelley, the poem was written in the woods outside Florence, Italy in the autumn of 1819. In the poem, the speaker directly addresses the west wind. The speaker treats the west wind as a force of death and decay, and welcomes this death and decay because it means that rejuvenation and rebirth will come soon. In the final two sections of the poem, the speaker suggests that he wants to help promote this rebirth through his own poetry—and that rejuvenation he hopes to see is both political and poetic: a rebirth of society and its ways of writing.
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The Full Text of “Ode to the West Wind”
I
1O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
2Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
3Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
4Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
5Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou,
6Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
7The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,
8Each like a corpse within its grave, until
9Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow
10Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill
11(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
12With living hues and odours plain and hill:
13Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;
14Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh hear!
II
15Thou on whose stream, mid the steep sky's commotion,
16Loose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed,
17Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean,
18Angels of rain and lightning: there are spread
19On the blue surface of thine aëry surge,
20Like the bright hair uplifted from the head
21Of some fierce Maenad, even from the dim verge
22Of the horizon to the zenith's height,
23The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge
24Of the dying year, to which this closing night
25Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre,
26Vaulted with all thy congregated might
27Of vapours, from whose solid atmosphere
28Black rain, and fire, and hail will burst: oh hear!
III
29Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams
30The blue Mediterranean, where he lay,
31Lull'd by the coil of his crystalline streams,
32Beside a pumice isle in Baiae's bay,
33And saw in sleep old palaces and towers
34Quivering within the wave's intenser day,
35All overgrown with azure moss and flowers
36So sweet, the sense faints picturing them! Thou
37For whose path the Atlantic's level powers
38Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below
39The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear
40The sapless foliage of the ocean, know
41Thy voice, and suddenly grow gray with fear,
42And tremble and despoil themselves: oh hear!
IV
43If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;
44If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;
45A wave to pant beneath thy power, and share
46The impulse of thy strength, only less free
47Than thou, O uncontrollable! If even
48I were as in my boyhood, and could be
49The comrade of thy wanderings over Heaven,
50As then, when to outstrip thy skiey speed
51Scarce seem'd a vision; I would ne'er have striven
52As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.
53Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!
54I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!
55A heavy weight of hours has chain'd and bow'd
56One too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud.
V
57Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:
58What if my leaves are falling like its own!
59The tumult of thy mighty harmonies
60Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone,
61Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,
62My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!
63Drive my dead thoughts over the universe
64Like wither'd leaves to quicken a new birth!
65And, by the incantation of this verse,
66Scatter, as from an unextinguish'd hearth
67Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
68Be through my lips to unawaken'd earth
69The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
70If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
The Full Text of “Ode to the West Wind”
I
1O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
2Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
3Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
4Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
5Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou,
6Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
7The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,
8Each like a corpse within its grave, until
9Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow
10Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill
11(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
12With living hues and odours plain and hill:
13Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;
14Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh hear!
II
15Thou on whose stream, mid the steep sky's commotion,
16Loose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed,
17Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean,
18Angels of rain and lightning: there are spread
19On the blue surface of thine aëry surge,
20Like the bright hair uplifted from the head
21Of some fierce Maenad, even from the dim verge
22Of the horizon to the zenith's height,
23The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge
24Of the dying year, to which this closing night
25Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre,
26Vaulted with all thy congregated might
27Of vapours, from whose solid atmosphere
28Black rain, and fire, and hail will burst: oh hear!
III
29Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams
30The blue Mediterranean, where he lay,
31Lull'd by the coil of his crystalline streams,
32Beside a pumice isle in Baiae's bay,
33And saw in sleep old palaces and towers
34Quivering within the wave's intenser day,
35All overgrown with azure moss and flowers
36So sweet, the sense faints picturing them! Thou
37For whose path the Atlantic's level powers
38Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below
39The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear
40The sapless foliage of the ocean, know
41Thy voice, and suddenly grow gray with fear,
42And tremble and despoil themselves: oh hear!
IV
43If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;
44If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;
45A wave to pant beneath thy power, and share
46The impulse of thy strength, only less free
47Than thou, O uncontrollable! If even
48I were as in my boyhood, and could be
49The comrade of thy wanderings over Heaven,
50As then, when to outstrip thy skiey speed
51Scarce seem'd a vision; I would ne'er have striven
52As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.
53Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!
54I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!
55A heavy weight of hours has chain'd and bow'd
56One too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud.
V
57Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:
58What if my leaves are falling like its own!
59The tumult of thy mighty harmonies
60Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone,
61Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,
62My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!
63Drive my dead thoughts over the universe
64Like wither'd leaves to quicken a new birth!
65And, by the incantation of this verse,
66Scatter, as from an unextinguish'd hearth
67Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
68Be through my lips to unawaken'd earth
69The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
70If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
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“Ode to the West Wind” Summary
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“Ode to the West Wind” Themes
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Death and Rebirth
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Poetry and Rebirth
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Ode to the West Wind”
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Line 1
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
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Lines 2-5
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: -
Lines 5-8
O thou,
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed
The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave, -
Lines 8-12
until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow
Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living hues and odours plain and hill: -
Lines 13-14
Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;
Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh hear! -
Lines 15-18
T
hou on whose stream, mid the steep sky's commotion,
Loose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed,
Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean,
Angels of rain and lightning: -
Lines 18-23
there are spread
On the blue surface of thine aëry surge,
Like the bright hair uplifted from the head
Of some fierce Maenad, even from the dim verge
Of the horizon to the zenith's height,
The locks of the approaching storm. -
Lines 23-28
Thou dirge
Of the dying year, to which this closing night
Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre,
Vaulted with all thy congregated might
Of vapours, from whose solid atmosphere
Black rain, and fire, and hail will burst: oh hear! -
Lines 29-32
Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams
The blue Mediterranean, where he lay,
Lull'd by the coil of his crystalline streams,
Beside a pumice isle in Baiae's bay, -
Lines 33-36
And saw in sleep old palaces and towers
Quivering within the wave's intenser day,
All overgrown with azure moss and flowers
So sweet, the sense faints picturing them! -
Lines 36-42
Thou
For whose path the Atlantic's level powers
Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below
The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear
The sapless foliage of the ocean, know
Thy voice, and suddenly grow gray with fear,
And tremble and despoil themselves: oh hear! -
Lines 43-47
If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;
If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;
A wave to pant beneath thy power, and share
The impulse of thy strength, only less free
Than thou, O uncontrollable! -
Lines 47-51
If even
I were as in my boyhood, and could be
The comrade of thy wanderings over Heaven,
As then, when to outstrip thy skiey speed
Scarce seem'd a vision; -
Lines 51-56
I would ne'er have striven
As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.
Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!
I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!
A heavy weight of hours has chain'd and bow'd
One too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud. -
Lines 57-61
Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:
What if my leaves are falling like its own!
The tumult of thy mighty harmonies
Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone,
Sweet though in sadness. -
Lines 61-64
Be thou, Spirit fierce,
My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!
Drive my dead thoughts over the universe
Like wither'd leaves to quicken a new birth! -
Lines 65-70
And, by the incantation of this verse,
Scatter, as from an unextinguish'd hearth
Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
Be through my lips to unawaken'd earth
The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
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“Ode to the West Wind” Symbols
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Seeds
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Flocks
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Old Palaces and Towers
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Thorns of Life
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Blood
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Lyre
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Ashes and Sparks
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Spring
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“Ode to the West Wind” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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End-Stopped Line
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Enjambment
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Caesura
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Simile
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Metaphor
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Apostrophe
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Personification
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Refrain
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Repetition
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Allusion
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Consonance
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“Ode to the West Wind” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Breath
- Being
- Enchanter
- Hectic
- Pestilence-stricken
- Chariotest
- Azure
- Clarion
- Plain
- Mid
- Commotion
- Boughs
- Aëry
- Maenads
- Verge
- Zenith
- Locks
- Dirge
- Sepulchre
- Congregated
- Mediterranean
- Lull'd
- Coil
- Crystalline
- Streams
- Pumice
- Baiae
- Atlantic
- Chasms
- Oozy
- Sapless
- Foliage
- Despoil
- Pant
- Impulse
- Uncontrollable
- Outstrip
- Skiey
- Striven
- Chain'd
- Bow'd
- Lyre
- Tumult
- Harmonies
- Tone
- Impetuous
- Quicken
- Incantation
- Verse
- Unextinguish'd
- Unawaken'd
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Ode to the West Wind”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Ode to the West Wind” Speaker
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“Ode to the West Wind” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Ode to the West Wind”
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More “Ode to the West Wind” Resources
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External Resources
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Percy Bysse Shelley — A detailed biography of Shelley from the Poetry Foundation.
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How Percy Shelley Stirred His Politics Into His Teacup — An article on Shelley's anti-slavery politics, from NPR.
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"Ode to the West Wind" Read Aloud — Tom O'Bedlam reads Percy Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind" aloud in its entirety.
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The Romantics — An essay on the history of Romantic poetry, the poetic movement to which Shelley belonged, from the British Library.
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Shelley's "A Defence of Poetry" — The full text of Percy Shelley's "A Defence of Poetry"—an essay in which he lays out his ideas about what poetry should be and how it could be a force for change in the world.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley
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