Question

Determine the meaning of lines 54-56 from "Ode to the West Wind:" "I fall upon the thorns of life . . . A heavy weight of hours has chained and bowed / One too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud."

Answer 1

The speaker in 'Ode to the West Wind' expresses a connection to the wind's untamed spirit but feels weighted down by the struggles and passage of time in his own life.

Step-by-step explanation:

The passage from lines 54-56 of "Ode to the West Wind" by Percy Bysshe Shelley communicates a sense of personal suffering and the burden of life. The speaker compares himself to the West Wind, expressing that both are 'tameless, and swift, and proud', but unlike the wind, he is chained and bowed by the heavy weight of life's hours. This suggests the speaker feels a kinship with the wind's wild freedom and power, but is also frustrated by his own limitations and the pain ('thorns of life') he experiences.