Ode to the West Wind

The speaker of “Ode to the West Wind” sees unity with the wind as his chance to escape the shackles of his life. He craves the freedom he had as a child, when he and the wind indulged in aimless “wandering” (Line 49). Growing up means constantly learning new things and having new experiences, never staying in one emotional, physical, or mental state for too long. The young speaker was so used to change that to resist it “scarce seem’d a vision” (Line 51). Looking back, the speaker craves nothing more than to experience a life like the autumn wind: chaotic and destructive, but ultimately creative and invigorating.

The grown-up speaker is now “in sore need” (Line 52) of that release. Adult life, especially when compared to childhood, is characterized by constancy and routine. He is beset by problems, or “thorns” (Line 54), and he has no option but to lie where he has fallen and “bleed” (Line 54). The speaker also laments this constancy because he is, he says to the West Wind, “too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud” (Line 56). Of course, the clock can’t be turned back. The speaker will only grow older, adding more pounds to the “heavy weight of hours” (Line 55) that keeps him where he stands until he dies.