Question

In “Ode to the West Wind,” which statement best summarizes Shelley’s depiction of the West Wind? a. The West Wind represents the goodness of nature. b. The West Wind represents the destructive power of nature. c. The West Wind’s destructiveness makes new life possible. d. The West Wind brings the spring.

Answer 1

The correct answer is c. The West Wind’s destructiveness makes new life possible.

Indeed, the poem uses very numerous imagery of nature throughout all of its stanzas. All these elements are personified with human traits or emotions that give them symbolic meaning which is both aesthetic and political. The extensive use of nature for its aesthetic and symbolic value is one of the major characteristics of Romanticism. Nature her is also liked with mythology as many of the natural elements evoke Greek or Roman Gods that are associated with them.

The wind of Autumn is both a ““destroyer and preserver,”. It chills people with its coldness but also scatters the seeds that will bring life during Spring.

However, the most important part of the poem is its political subtext. The “Wild West Wind” here is a symbol of the revolutionary changes that were taking place in Europe during and after the French Revolution, namely the Peterloo Massacre that took place in London in 1819 when the cavalry charged into a crowd of almost a hundred thousand peaceful protestors, killing several and wounding hundreds. Thus, the Wind here is a symbol for the "winds of change" that were sweeping the old monarchic order.

Answer 2

The answer is: c. The West Wind’s destructiveness makes new life possible.

In the poem "Ode to the West Wind," the author Percy Bysshe Shelley sumons the west wind and makes reference to a succession of events it brings. For example, he mentions it moves away autumn leaves and seeds, and it brings thunderstorms which contribute to the cycle of nature. In this respect, he acknowledges the west wind of autumn brings the desolation of winter, but he expects a new birth in spring.