西风颂 英文赏析.doc

11041021 11外11 李瑞玲Ode to west windIntroductionThewestwindwaswidelyadoptedinShelleyspoetry. From the whole poem, we can see it describes the poets love for the nature. At the same time, the poem expresses the hope that its words will inspire and influence those who read or hear it. The author praised the west wind as both destroyer and preserver. This essay contains four parts; firstly it will talk about the structure of the west wind. The second part is the information of the language or the diction of the poem. The third part discusses the rhythm of the poem. The last part is about the images of the poem which conveys the hidden feeling of the author StructureIt consists of five stanzas. Ode to the West Wind can be divided in two parts: the first three stanzas and The last two stanzas .The three stanzas describes the winds effects upon earth, air, and ocean. The last two stanzas are Shelley speaking directly to the wind, asking for its power, to lift him like a leaf, a cloud or a wave and make him its companion in its wanderings.Inthefirststanza,thepoetadoptedthecolorcontrasttacticanddescribedthescenewhenwestwindsweptautumn-Yellow,andblack,andpale,andhecticred,indicatingthatturbulentwestwindblewdownleavesandspreadtheseedsintolandagain,waitingforthearrivalofspring.Inthesentence,peoplecouldimagineafadingscenefulloffallenleaves.However,whenthespringcomes,colorswillturnsoftandbrightcolorsandfragrancewillbespreadovermountainsandplains.Thepoetprovedhimselftobecolorplayer,inseverallinesofwhosepoems,thechangingprocessofthenature,fromdulltoprosperous,wasperfectlypresented.Finally,thepoetnamestheubiquitouswestwindasbothdestroyerandprotector,whichincludescertainunderstandingthatwestwindbreaktheoldworldandcreateacompletelynewworld.AccordingtoMaharishi,Thenatureoflifeistogrow,westwindisthepowerofdeveloping. The second stanza is predominantly concerned with the violence and terror of air storms, and it begins with a description which expresses the powerful spectacle of turbulence, which brings air (Heaven) and water (Ocean) together as one powerful force. The power of the West Wind is reflected in what it can dotaking control over the clouds in the sky. The poet says the west wind drives clouds along just as it does dead leaves after it shakes the clouds free of the sky and the oceansInthethirdstanza,theviewwasswitchedfromthehighskytotheocean.Shelleymainlydescribedhowthewestwindwokeuptheoceanandcausedpanicamongseapants.Priortothearrivalofthewestwind,theseawasascalmasifithassleptforawholesummer.Moreover,italsosawtheancientpalaceandpavilionsinitsdream.Thereaderswerealsoabletoseereflectionofthepavilionstheclearwaterandtheripplesformedascenewithfull-bodiedlybeauty.Then,theseawasalsoembeddedwithalsopersonality,who,priortothearrivalofwestwind,activelysplititselfandexposedtheseaplantswhichhiddeeplyatthebottomofthesea.Thispeculiardescriptionseemstobecompletelybroadimaginationofthepoet,whilealsocomplieswiththelawofnature.Intheabovethreestanzas,thepoetdescribedhowthewestwindsweptfromtheskytothesea.However,inthefourthstanza,thepoetfocusedonhimselfandwishedthatthewesterwindcouldtookhimaway,likethewayitdidtoleaves,cloudsandripplesinthesea.Thepoetwaseagertofloatintheworldfreely.Inordertodemonstratespeedofthewestwindandthepoetseagerness,thepoetusedaseriesofthesamesentencepatternandformedaclangingandfloatingrhythmofthepoetry.Diction Stanza 1Shelly uses “O wild west wind”, the 3 “w” indicates a state of blowing, the west wind blows continuously and breaks through all the barriers. Besides, the “w” is also a powerful sound. The whole poet uses the west wind as the subject instead of “I”, the observer. In fact, it is Shelly who hears the west wind.Thus, Shelly wants to emphasize the role of the west wind. Compared with the power of the west wind, human beings are too inferior. The word “unseen” means invisible, it means although the west wind cant be seen, but we can feel it from the different colors of the dead leaves. It conveys a sense of horror. “are driven”, passive voice, the word “drive” or “flee” indicates power. “Yellow”, ”black” “pale” “hectic red” all are colors of the dead leaves. The west wind blows the autumn leaves off the tree. “the winged seeds”, which means many plants, including trees, perpetrate themselves by seeds borne on the wind. It shows the speed of the west wind. The word “clarion” means a kind of trumpet whose note is clear and shrill. After people died 12 days, the angel will blow the trumpet and judge on people. In Shellys eyes, the west wind is charming. At the end of the first stanza; Shelly expressed his strong emotion in the short sentence: “Oh, hear!” “oh” expresses his excitement and admiration of hearing or “seeing” the wild west wind.Stanza 2“Loose clouds like earths decaying leaves are shed”, the poet describes the clouds just playing the same role as leaves in the last section. “angels of rain and lightning”, the poet regards rain and lightning as angels, which symbolize good things.in other words, its the revolution storm, through describing them and the bright hair, we know the power of the wind.The night thats falling as the storm comes is going to be like a dark-domed tomb constructed of thunderclouds, lightning, and rain. The image here is of the darkened sky similar to a vast cathedrals interior, with the solid clouds forming the roof, and further images of death and also of the apocalypse: vast sepulchre, dying year, etc. All these dark and fearsome expressions create the power of the West Wind. Congregated means condensed . Congregated might/Of Vapours means The clouds are so condensed that they carry a great force. The word congregated and solid vividly and explicitly explains the state of vapours, which makes the power reflected behind understandable and reasonable.In the last sentence, the verb burst creates a scene of spurt, which comes from a long-term accumulation and condensed energy. With the use of these verbs, we can easily form the image of fierceness and sense the potential yet great power of the West Wind.Stanza3:Leaving the earth and the sky behind, the poet pays attention to the blue Mediterranean, which presents a quiet, easeful circumstance. “lull” makes somebody relaxed and calm. Shelly uses lull to show that the ocean is also powerful and usually not peaceful except that he is asleep. Even though the ocean is full of power, he is still afraid of the west winds force. Shelly chooses coil to show how gentle the streams are and the ocean has a sound sleep. “For whose path the Atlantics level powers, Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below”. “Path” here means to make a path for the west wind. “Chasms” means a deep crack or opening in the ocean. Two words vividly describe the force of the west wind. Suddenly grow gray, the blue Mediterranean and crystalline streams. The colors of the ocean turn blue and crystalline to gray. It is important to mention that the ocean grows grey the minute he recognizes the sound of the west wind. The three words-quivering, tremble and despoil, Through the three words, Shelly makes a contrast to show the great power of the uncontrollable west wind, especially using despoil which means to destroy.Structure and Rhyme Scheme Each stanza of the poem has three tercets and a closing couplet. In poetry, a tercet is a unit of three lines that usually contain end rhyme; a couplet is a two-line unit that usually contains end rhyme. Shelley wrote the tercets in a verse form called terza rima, invented by Dante Alighieri. In this format, line 2 of one tercet rhymes with lines 1 and 3 of the next tercet. In regard to the latter, consider the first three tercets of the second stanza of Ode to the West Wind. Notice that shed (second line, first tercet) rhymes with spread and head (first and third lines, second tercet) and that surge (second line, second tercet) rhymes with verge and dirge (first and third lines, third tercet). Thou on whose stream, mid the steep skys commotion, Loose clouds like earths decaying leaves are shed, Shook from the tangled boughs of heaven and ocean, Angels of rain and lightning! there are spread On the blue surface of thine airy surge, Like the bright hair uplifted from the head 20 Of some fierce Mnad, even from the dim verge Of the horizon to the zeniths height, The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge. All of the couplets in the poem rhyme, Shelley unifies the content of the poem by focusing the first three stanzas on the powers of the wind. ImageThemostimportantimagehecreatedinthispoetryisthe“westwind”,whichplaystherolesofdestroyerandpreserver.Inhefirstcanto,Shelleypaintedapicturethatthewestwindwassweeping“theleavesdead”andblowingtheseedsintotheearthbyusingmetaphorandsymbolism.Thewestwindiscomparedtotheinvincible“breathofAutumnsbeing”innature.Besidesthat,thewestwindinspringwasassimilatedtothe“ThineazuresisterofSpring”.Combiningwiththebackgroundatthattime,wecaninferthat“theleavesdead”representsBritishreactionaryclass.“Pestilence-strickenmultitudes”insinuatedthestateofdyingreactionaryclass.Wildspiritsigni