‘Ode to the West Wind’ was written in Cascine Woods, outside of Florence, Italy, and published in 1820. It focuses on death’s necessary destruction and the possibilities of rebirth.
Excitement is palpable in the speaker's anticipation of the change that the West Wind promises to bring. There is an eagerness to goes beyond current struggles and limitations, conveyed through the poem's dynamic rhythms and passionate language. This excitement propels the poem forward, charging it with emotional and intellectual energy.
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,