Ode to the West Wind

Ode to the West Wind is an ode written near Florence, Italy. Some have interpreted the poem as the speaker lamenting his inability to directly help those in England owing to his being in Italy; at the same time, the poem expresses the hope that its words will inspire and influence those who read or hear it. More than anything else, Shelley wanted his message of reform and revolution spread, and the wind becomes the trope for spreading the word of change through the poet-prophet figure. Some also believe that the poem is due to the loss of his son, William in 1819 (to Mary Shelley), his son Charles (to Harriet Shelley) died in 1826, after "Ode to the West Wind" was written and published. The ensuing pain influenced Shelley. The poem allegories the role of the poet as the voice of change and revolution; at the time of composing this poem, Shelley without doubt had the Peterloo Massacre of August 1819 in mind. His other poems written at the same time—"The Mask of Anarchy," "Prometheus Unbound," and "England in 1819"—take up these same problems of political change, revolution, and role of the poet. Illustrated by Storm over the Sierra Nevada by Albert Bierstadt - There is a border around the image. Image size is correct. Many sizes available.