TheBriefAnalysisofRhetoricalDivicesInOdetotheWestWind.doc

the brief analysis of rhetorical divices in ode to the west windode to the west wind is an ode written by percy bysshe shelley in 1819 near florence, italy to express his belief of reform and revolution. deeply impressed by the beauty and power of the west wind, we cant ignore the perfect usage of various rhetorical divices. this paper will make a brief analysis of rhetorical divices in ode to the west wind.poems are highly condensed and used to convey rich meaning in limited lines, so rhetorical devices are found most frequently and most typically in poems. the predominant rhetorical devices discussed in this classical poem are divided into three catalogues in this thesis: lexical stylistic devices, syntactical stylistic devices, and phonetic stylistic devices. as there are so many rhetorical devices used in ode to the west wind, this paper will centers on simile, hyperbole, parallelism, and alliteration.simile, one of the important lexical stylistic devices, is used to make language more colorful and vivid.“thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves deadare driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing ”“ the winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,each like a corpse within its grave, until”in the first simile, the poet compares “the leaves dead” to “ghosts”, and in the next simile, “seeds” to “corpses”. by using simile, the poet shows us a more vivid picture after west wind blowed, and creates a powerful and magnificent image of the west wind.hyperbole, also one of the important lexical stylistic devices, is often used to express peoples strong feeling or violent emotion by remarkable imagination and literary extravagance. from whose solid atmosphereblack rain, and fire, and hail will burst: o hear! in this hyperbole, the poet uses two adjectives solid and black to achieve the effect of exaggeration. atmosphere is so intensive that it looks like solid, and rain is so heavy that it seems black. with the hyperbole, the poet emphasizes the hard, depression chaos with turbid storm and wind, so suffocating that it strikes the readers vision receptor and impresses the reader deeply.parallelism, one of the important syntactical stylistic devices, is used to emphasize the equal importance and weight of parallel parts. o wild west wind, thou breath of autumns being,thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves deadare driveno thou,who chariotest to their dark wintry bedthe winged seeds in the parallelism, the reader learns clearly and impressively that one who is the breath of autumn being is the west wind, one who drives the leaves is the west wind, and one who chariots the seeds is still the west wind. the action, the manner and the role of the west wind are portrayed intactly, and the poets enthusiastic admiration towards the west wind is poured out like running water.alliteration, one of the important phonetic stylistic devices, is used to make the language more vivid and impressive and increase the rhythm of the language.“o wild west wind ”“thine azure sister of spring shall blow ”both the two usage of alliteration not only increse the rhythm but also affect the mood of the poem. the immediate repeated w signifies the wail of the dense, gruff, and long breath of the west wind, whereas the intermittent repeated s sound sounds slow, gentle, and soft while invigorating to communicate the breezing of the spring wind.rhetorical devices is to a poem what condiment is to a dish. after analysing the usage of simile, hyperbole, parallelism, and alliteration in ode to the west wind, we can conclude that r