Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind' is a perfect lyric which combines in itself lofty thoughts and strong passion. In this poem, 'Shelley's ardent desire for the regeneration of mankind and the establishment of a new world order is vehemently expressed. The West Wind which is a destroyer and preserver sweeps away the old and useless ideas and fosters fresh and modern ones. The West Wind for the poet is not merely a natural phenomenon. It is for him a tempestuous spirit destroying what has to die and preserving the seeds of a new life. The West Wind symbolizes the free spirit of man – "tameless, and swift, and proud". It also symbolizes poetic inspiration and becomes 'the trumpet of a prophecy' ushering in a grand and glorious regeneration of mankind. The West Wind is the very symbol of the Law of Life itself, containing within it the power to destroy and the power to preserve. The poem harmonises and fuses these images to a remarkable degree. Shelley has also been successful in charging his ode with speed, force and energy like the tempestuous wind itself.
The first three stanzas are in the form of a prayer and describe the activities of the West Wind on land, in the sky and in the ocean. The West Wind, which is 'the breath of autumn's being, scatters the dead and sickly leaves ('pestilence-stricken multitudes') like a magician driving away ghosts. The West Wind is not only Destroyer but is also a Preserver. The Wind also carries and scatters the seeds and buries them under the soil, where they lie dormant all through winter. When the warm spring breeze blows, the seeds will sprout, filling the whole earth with a new life.
The powerful West Wind shakes and pushes the thin clouds, which are like leaves of 'the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean'. The fast moving dark clouds herald the approach of a rain-storm. The sky looks fierce like a mad and intoxicated Maenad and the clouds appear to be her streaming hair. The West Wind gathers black clouds and are transformed into the dark solid dome of a tomb from which fire and hail will burst. The lines carry the suggestion of birth and growth along with death. The leaf image is maintained throughout.
The West Wind wakes up the beautiful, blue and clam Mediterranean who is pictured as sleeping, lying by the side a pumice isle in Baiae's bay and dreaming of moss-grown palaces, ruined towers and gardens. The smooth waves of the Atlantic cleave themselves into deep furrows. The plants sense the approach of the West Wind and become pale and shed their leaves.
A strong personal note is struck in the fourth stanza of the poem. He is in dire need of the West Wind as he no more retains his carefree innocence and tamelessness of his boyhood. He has fallen 'on the thorns of life' and he bleeds. He is fettered by the claims and responsibilities and is full of the cares of life. "A heavy weight of hours has chained and bowed. One too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud" he laments. The poet is in a mood of impotent dejection and appeals to the wind to lift him 'as a wave, a leaf, a cloud to escape from this burden of life. Fortunately, the poem does not end here. The poet in the next stanza recovers his balance and goes beyond his personal sorrows. He wants to identify himself with the fierce spirit of the Wind. He calls upon the Wind to 'drive my dead thoughts over the universe, like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!' He appeals to the Wind to scatter his poems, which are like sparks from a smouldering fire, to kindle a new fire in the hearts and minds of men. He also appeals to the West Wind to inspire him so that his poems, which have been born out of sorrow and hope, will prove to be the bringer of joy of humanity – the new spring time for mankind. The poem closes on a note of ardent hope. He wants the West Wind to blow through his lips the prophecy that a brave new world – a world of love, beauty and goodness – will soon emerge in place of the existing world of misery and suffering. "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" the poem ends with this optimistic question.