"Ode to the West Wind" Shelley
Ode to the West Wind
Appreciation Guide
"Ode to the West Wind" is Shelley's masterpiece. Compared with Generally speaking, short lyric poems are relatively long, and the scenes in the poem are constantly changing, and the images are very dense. When reading, you may feel dazzled, so when explaining, you should pay attention to grasp the clues of the poem's development.
This poem was conceived in a wood on the banks of the Arno River near Florence. Shelley himself once explained its origin: "That day was pregnant with the warm and exhilarating spirit of a storm. The strong wind gathered the clouds that often poured down the autumn rain. As expected, the rain started at sunset, and the storm was accompanied by hail and the majestic lightning and thunder unique to the southern Alps. The power of nature becomes the starting point of the poem.
The first section describes how the violent west wind destroys the dead leaves, sweeps away the fallen leaves, and blows the seeds into the land, waiting for the arrival of spring. There are two places in the poem that may be difficult to understand and require some explanation: "winged seeds" refers to those seeds that are spread to distant places by wind; "sisters in the blue sky" refers to the fresh east wind in spring, which the poet calls the east wind. As the sister of West Wind, in order to show the connection between the two. In this section, the poet uses the technique of color contrast. When describing the autumn swept by the west wind, the sentence "yellow, black, gray, and red is like suffering from tuberculosis" renders a colorful decline when the leaves wither. The appearance of words and images such as "ghost", "wizard", "epidemic", "dead body" and "dark winter bed" further highlights the chilling atmosphere of all things. But when it comes to the arrival of "spring", the color of the language becomes softer and brighter - "filling the mountains and plains with color and fragrance". The poet is indeed a master of using "color". In these lines of poems, the changing process of nature from dryness to prosperity is vividly presented. Finally, the poet named the ubiquitous west wind "destroyer and protector", which contains a specific understanding that the west wind is both a destroyer of the old world and a creator of the new world. This is a dialectical illustration of the cycle of nature. law.
In the second section, the perspective is pulled to the sky, describing how the west wind broke through the dark clouds and formed a storm. This section is the most bizarre and magnificent part of the poem. At the beginning, the flowing clouds blown away by the wind are compared to dead leaves on the earth. Between the first and second stanzas, a natural transition is formed, with the use of words such as chaos, tearing, and entanglement. It also intensifies a sense of turmoil. The broken clouds are breaking away from the invisible "branches" like fallen leaves. In the following lines of poetry, the poet uses a more bold imagination, comparing the clouds falling in the sky to "the flying hair of a mad woman." The so-called "Mad Girl", the original text is "Maenad", is a character in Greek mythology. In ancient paintings, she has an image of angry hair. The furious image and long hair scattered accurately represent the natural wonder of flying clouds, and also hint at the mystery and danger of nature. In this section, it should also be noted that although the poet's imagination is bold, it actually follows some scientific common sense, such as the formation of heavy rain from the transpiration and condensation of water vapor, accompanied by "electricity" in the clouds. function, etc. As a romantic poet, Shelley not only had rich emotions and imagination, but also had great interest in natural sciences such as physics, chemistry, and electricity. In this poem, the praise of the power of nature is closely related to the understanding of nature. combined.
In the third section, the perspective returns from high altitude to the ocean. It is written that the west wind awakens the ocean and makes the plants on the seabed tremble. When describing the calmness of the ocean before the arrival of the west wind, the poet imagined that "it once slept for a whole summer", and in the dream it also saw "ancient palaces and pavilions". The reader seems to be able to see the reflection of the pavilions in the clear sky. How the sea water ripples creates a beautiful scene of sparkling waves. Later, the sea seemed to have a personality. When the west wind came, it actively split itself open, exposing the plants hidden deep under the sea. This description is very strange and seems to come entirely from the poet's magnificent imagination, but it also conforms to some kind of natural law. It is said that aquatic plants at the bottom of oceans, rivers, and lakes respond to seasonal changes in the same way as land plants, so the arrival of the west wind will of course have an impact on them.
The above three stanzas describe the west wind traveling between heaven and earth. The fourth stanza returns to the poet himself. He calls on the west wind to take "me" away, uninhibitedly and freely, like leaves, floating clouds, and water waves. Floating in the world. In order to express the speed of the west wind and the urgency of "I" mood, the poet used a series of the same sentence patterns - "If I were a dead leaf floated by you", "If I were a cloud that could fly with you", " "If I share your pulse", "If I can dance in the wind like when I was a boy" - forming a sonorous and flying rhythm, the sentence "When I am water waves, leaves and floating clouds" even simulates The constant stirring of the west wind. In the fifth stanza, the momentum of this language becomes stronger. The poet uses a series of prayer sentences to express his determination and courage to become one with the west wind. The famous aphorism that appears at the end appears in the form of a rhetorical question, and seems to be asking the reader directly, as if the west wind has stopped, and the connotation of the poem suddenly becomes extremely meaningful.
From the earth, the sky to the ocean, and then to "I", between man and nature, the poet spread his imagination freely, combining natural phenomena, scientific concepts, understanding of the universe, and the passion of life, The integration fully demonstrates the poet's expanded spiritual world. In addition to describing the image of the west wind, the poet also often uses interjections and overlapping sentence patterns. Especially the first three stanzas end with "Oh, listen", so that although the five stanzas can form an independent poem, they are connected to each other. Just like the west wind blowing freely in the sky, it is done in one go.
Ode to the West Wind The theme of this poem, like the "Tiger" mentioned above, also has different interpretations. It is generally said that the writing of this poem is related to the movement of the British working class at that time. Shelley expressed his praise of the devastating revolutionary power through the description of the west wind. But there is another saying that the connotation of this poem is more complex and does not necessarily need to be explained from a political level. It is an irresistible force of nature in the rotation of seasons, a passion for destruction and creation contained in nature. Perhaps this It is the object of the poet's praise.
Teaching Suggestions
1. Preview Guidance
"Ode to the West Wind" is a famous piece of Shelley's lyric poetry, but it is long, dense with images, and clueless. It seems a bit confusing, so let the students read the poem silently first, and then read it aloud to try to grasp the clues of the poem's development.
2. Interpretation of the work
1. Introduce some background of this poem, including the situation of the poet, historical conditions, origin of writing, etc., to pave the way for a better understanding of the work.
2. Although this is a lyrical poem, it is difficult to understand because the space and scenes are constantly changing from heaven to earth. First, let the students recite each section of the poem separately, and then explain the content of each section in detail to grasp the internal clues of the poem's development.
3. In order to express the destructive power of the west wind and the natural wonders among the sky, the earth, and the ocean, the poet used a large number of novel metaphors and vivid images, and asked students to pick out relevant passages and analyze the poet The beauty of imagination.
4. The sentence pattern and wording of this poem are very distinctive. It often uses overlapping and complex sentence patterns, as well as powerful verbs. It is sonorous and exciting, and the rhythm of the language reflects the strong west wind. , we should focus on analyzing the characteristics of these sentences and words.
5. Regarding this poem, the general explanation is that it expresses a kind of praise for the revolutionary power. However, in addition to this, the poet's view of nature must be explained to the students, in terms of decline and prosperity. In the cycle, the endless power of nature is revealed.
3. Expansion and Comparison
1. "Ode to the West Wind" is a representative work of romanticism. While expressing strong emotions, it also contains rich imagination, broad realm and organization. Student discussion: How is it different from the lyric poetry we are generally familiar with?
2. While praising the west wind, this poem also depicts many natural phenomena, including many scientific factors, allowing students to find relevant passages and think about scientific knowledge through the poet’s imagination. , how can it also have a "poetry".
Reference materials
Read Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind" (Yuan Kejia)
On the afternoon of October 20, 1819, Shelley was in Cairo, Italy, on the outskirts of Florence. Walking in the forest. He walked along the Arno River, excited by the sight of the strong autumn wind sweeping through the fallen leaves. He thought of the suffering motherland, and he also thought of his personal life experience when he was forced to leave the motherland a year and a half ago. The slanderous attacks against him in some British newspapers are still ringing in my ears. The poet couldn't help lamenting that both his motherland and himself were deeply trapped in the suffering caused by the reactionary government; he was indignant, and he urgently needed to use a powerful artistic image to express the anger of a revolutionary. The west wind in front of him came just in time: isn't this the artistic image he is looking for?
The power of the west wind sweeping across the fallen leaves is used to metaphor the revolutionary power to clear out the reactionary regime; the west wind blowing seeds is used to metaphor the spread of revolutionary ideas, and the poet's hope for the future - this is the meaning of singing the west wind in "Ode to the West Wind" Two sides of the thematic idea of ??"destroyer-cum-preserver." After several days of deliberation, Shelley further compared himself with the west wind, using the west wind as a metaphor for all revolutionary poets and poems, and vigorously elaborated on the dual functions of poets and poems: destroying the old and giving birth to the new, which further enriched this famous lyric. Progressive content of poetry. Of course, due to the limitations of the times and worldview, Shelley's revolutionary thoughts basically belong to the category of utopian socialism, and are abstract and illusory in nature.
From this point of view, in order to accurately grasp the theme and significance of "Ode to the West Wind", it is not superfluous to understand the situation in Britain at that time and Shelley's life and thoughts. Here, concise historical background knowledge can obviously help us appreciate the specific
Oh, the violent west wind, the breath of autumn life!
You are invisible, but the dead leaves are swept away by you,
Like ghosts meeting a wizard, they all escape:
The opening chapter of "Ode to the West Wind" is appropriately borrowed from The power of the autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves expresses the poet's anger at the ugly reality and his determination to clean up the old forces. Shelley was a revolutionary optimist who saw not only the destructive power of the westerly wind sweeping through fallen leaves, but also the constructive power of its blowing seeds. The entire poem "Ode to the West Wind" runs through this contradictory yet unified theme.
The first stanza points it out straight to the point, which provides central clues for the development of the following stanzas, as well as the famous prophecy at the end of the poem: "If winter has come, O west wind, how can spring be far away?" The pen is the basis for the realization of the prophecy.
The majestic image of the west wind runs throughout the poem and plays a decisive role. However, each section also has auxiliary images related to the west wind to expand the artistic effect. Echoing the two aspects of the theme of the whole poem, the first stanza not only writes about the west wind that breathes autumn, but also writes about spring’s “sister of the blue sky” (i.e., spring breeze); it writes about both the ghostly fallen leaves and the “like” Like a flock of sheep, "feeding on the spring buds in the air"; the poet not only curses the dying autumn leaves with words such as "reinfected with plague", but also looks forward to the spring "filling the mountains and plains with color and fragrance". The lashing of reality and the fantasy of the future—that is, the eulogy of the dual role of the west wind in destroying the old and giving birth to the new—these two parts of the theme are constantly intersecting and developing through juxtaposed and contrasting descriptions.
The second stanza of "Ode to the West Wind" not only continues to describe the power of the west wind that sang a funeral song for the "dying year", but also associates it with the flow of heaven from the image of dead leaves in the previous stanza. cloud. The strong wind sweeping through the flowing clouds and sweeping away the fallen leaves have the same purpose. The connection here is both close and natural. With this connection, the artistic conception of the poem expands: our eyes move from the ground to the air. What attracts our attention here is still the overwhelming momentum of the west wind, as well as the thunder, lightning, storm, and revolutionary storm that the flowing clouds will bring:
That is your pure energy, from which will gush< /p>
Black rain, hail and fire: Oh, hear you:
The first three stanzas of "Ode to the West Wind" all end with "Oh, hear you", only the first stanza The wording is slightly different. Of course, what Shelley wants us to listen to is not only the roar of the wind, but also the revolutionary clarion call from the poet's heart. We know that Shelley was always wavering on the issue of violence in revolution, which became an important shortcoming in his life's thinking. It was only when the British labor movement was rising in 1819 that he clearly pointed out the necessity of violence. Although some Western bourgeois critics still hold different opinions (such as the author of "Shelley at Work" published in 1956), "Ode to the West Wind" is undoubtedly a celebration of violence. Shelley said clearly: "Ah, I wish you would give me a violent spirit! O brave man, let us be one!" (Section 5) It is this point that makes "Ode to the West Wind" obviously surpass Shelley's poem. The height of thought in some lyric poems.
In the first two stanzas, readers follow the poet's strokes to heaven and earth. In the third stanza, the poet leads us into the ocean. The stormy waves of the Mediterranean Sea become a prominent auxiliary image, just as dead leaves and drifting clouds are the auxiliary images of the first and second stanzas respectively. Shelley focuses on describing the rough blue Mediterranean awakened by the autumn wind. The power of the west wind is further exaggerated: the water of the Atlantic Ocean makes way for the west wind and "splits on both sides"; the vegetation deep in the abyss is "frightened and turned blue" by the west wind, and "trembles and shrinks automatically."
So far, Shelley has described three natural phenomena: the west wind sweeps across fallen leaves, sweeps through flowing clouds, and stirs up waves. Although readers also feel the poet's own thoughts and feelings in the image of the west wind, the relationship between the west wind and himself is clearly pointed out in the fourth and fifth verses. The fourth stanza is a turning point in the structure of the poem: it begins to develop in the subjective direction of the poet. "Oh, if I were a dead leaf lifted up by you, / If I were a cloud that could fly away with you, / If I were a wave, breathing with your power." It is worth noting that Shelley still repeatedly uses the auxiliary images in the first three stanzas when leading "I" into the poem. This ingenious repetition summarizes the above and introduces the following, making the structure of the whole poem immediately tight, and making the change of description object - from the west wind to the poet - come appropriately and naturally. Of course Shelley's intention here is not to belittle himself as the object swept away by the west wind, but to hope to obtain the same power and play the same role as the west wind. He said, "This life, subdued by the heavy yoke of time, is the same as you: proud, nimble and untamed."
In the last section of "Ode to the West Wind", after Shelley expressed his hope to obtain a "violent spirit", he profoundly and concisely pointed out the social mission of the poet and poetry. Poetry should be like the west wind, promoting the birth of the new world, broadcasting "sparks" to the world, like the prophetic trumpet - echoing the trumpet of spring in the first stanza - "waking up the sleepy earth." This is exactly what Shelley, as a revolutionary romantic poet, always emphasized. He pointed out in his unfinished long essay "Poetry Debate": A poet should first be a warrior, a legislator of society, and a mentor of life.
After the above-mentioned development of the theme of "Ode to the West Wind", it ends with a prophecy that brilliantly expresses Shelley's revolutionary optimism: "If winter has come, O West Wind, how can spring be far away?" Many readers can recite this famous saying; it is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, not only because of the huge ideological significance it contains, but also because it appears at the end of the whole poem, which is a very appropriate and powerful summary of the tortuous thoughts and emotions. Had it appeared at the beginning, the effect would have been greatly diminished. From this ingenious arrangement, we can also appreciate Shelley's excellent poetic art.
There are two major categories of Shelley's lyric poems: one is characterized by a clear political commentary, with concise and powerful verses, such as "A Song to the British People" and other works. The other type wins with brilliant imagination and beautiful emotions, such as "Clouds" and "Skylarks".
They are full of imaginative charm and fantastic colors. "Ode to the West Wind" has the best of both worlds. The poet's imagination reaches to the sky and into the sea, but it is not overly exaggerated; the images used are specific and coherent, unlike the dazzlingly rich images in "Clouds". Although the poet's imagination gallops with the flowing clouds and blue waves, his heels are firmly planted on the land of reality.
The strict structure of "Ode to the West Wind" is one of the important reasons for its success. In the process of analyzing the theme ideas above, we have seen the cooperation and development of the main image and the auxiliary image. The whole poem always focuses on expressing the power of the west wind, and at the same time, it constantly absorbs other images from the ground, sky, and ocean to enrich the artistic appeal of the poem; the poem prominently expresses the thunderous power of the west wind, and at the same time provides a colorful The picture not only shows the effect of concentration and cohesion, but also is monotonous and boring. The poet always uses his inner feelings to render the external scenery, and uses the external scenery to reflect his inner emotions. He has indeed achieved a touching blend of scenes. We must not forget that Shelley once copied with admiration the words of a contemporary poet: "Transforming natural scenes into thoughts, and thoughts into natural scenes-this is the secret of artistic genius."
In In terms of format, "Ode to the West Wind" is also unique. The whole poem is composed of five sonnets. The general sonnet is suitable for expressing a complete and simple idea or emotion, so it often exists alone or forms a group poem, but each part still has a quite distinct independence. There are few examples like "Ode to the West Wind" in which five sonnets are closely composed into a lyric poem, and the various parts are closely dependent and inseparable. According to a study of several notebooks used by Shelley at that time, he initially used blank verse, and after several revisions, it became the current form. I think this may be because although blank verse poetry is suitable for expressing powerful emotions, it is generally loose and does not meet the requirements of a strict structure. The sonnet is famous for its strict and complete structure. However, the capacity of one sonnet is too small to fully express Shelley's grandeur and deep feelings, so several fourteen lines need to be combined. Here we can see the close connection between content and form.
(Selected from "Footprints of Half a Century", People's Literature Publishing House, 1994 edition)