How has Shelley portrayed the West Wind as a symbol of Life and Death?
Shelley composed the “Ode to the West Wind” while in Florence, Italy in the year 1819. It was published in the year 1820. The gist of the poem is that Shelley considers himself as a poet prophet campaigning for reform and revolution using the “wild west wind” to destroy everything that is old and defunct and plant new and progressive, liberal and democratic ideals in its stead. The poem describes a storm arising in the autumn season in the Mediterranean Sea and being driven towards the land by ‘the west wind.’ In Canto 1, Shelley addresses the west wind directly as the “breath of autumn’s being” and the sight of it driving away all the fallen leaves is compared to a magician or an enchanter driving away all the evil spirits. At the same time it carries with it the fallen seeds to deposit them in a different place where they will blossom in the spring season after being safely preserved during the cold winter season. The west wind is thus both ‘destroyer’ and ‘preserver’: Wild Spirit, w
