Ans: “Ode to the West Wind” is one of the finest poems written by Percy Bysshe Shelley who is one of the leaders of the Romantic Era. Shelley’s optimism is noticeable in many of his poems especially in “Ode to the West Wind”. Shelley was a visionary whose faith and optimism never dwindled. He dreamt of a bright and ready future. Shelley believed in regeneration. His feelings are fired with passion for reforming the world.

The poem “Ode to the West Wind” is perhaps Shelley’s best-known poem which shows his optimistic views of life. In fact, a note of optimism runs throughout the poem. The whole poem is conceived in optimism and from the very beginning, everything is brought to bear on the concluding line. We need a critical analysis of the poem to trace Shelley’s optimism in it.

In the poem “Ode to the West Wind”, the poet looks upon nature as a great source of inspiration. Shelley begins the very poem by calling the West Wind “wild” and the breath of autumn. The West Wind is the breath of autumn which means autumn’s main element is the West Wind. In it, Shelley presents the wind as a mighty, powerful force. The duality of the wind’s power is emphasized throughout the poem. It is simultaneously a destroyer and a preserver. The wind destroys in order to create something new. The wind symbolically represents a powerful force that destroys the old, useless thoughts and preserves the new ideas represented by “winged seeds”.

In the poem, the poet makes an earnest to the West Wind to help him in his sore/dire need as he is greatly afflicted with the adverse circumstances of life. In fact, the poet makes this earnest request to the West Wind so that it could give him help with its extraordinary power. Through the following lines, the poet makes an entreaty.

” Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!
I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed! “

But he does not remain satisfied with that he goes further and expresses his entreaty to the West Wind to totally merge into the poet. Shelley vehemently urges the West Wind to use its vigor and power into his so that he can play the ‘trumpet of prophecy’ and render his message to mankind. He wants to awaken mankind from their “wintry slumber”. He expresses his ardent zeal for regeneration. In the opinion of Shelley, the West Wind will act as a mouthpiece of Shelley and scatter his thoughts for the golden age all over the world. The poet says —

” Be through my lips to unawaken’d earth
The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind, “

In “Ode to the West Wind”, the poet is very optimistic about the future. He believes that his efforts with the West Wind as his partner will be successful in scattering his Utopian ideals over the world and bringing in a new age of perfect peace and happiness. His ideas would be spread over the world as ashes and sparks of fire are scattered from a burning furnace. The poet’s optimism about the coming of the generation of new ideals of morality and conduct of life has been shown through the following lines —

” If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? “

Here, the winter stands for his contemporary time and the spring stands for the time of rebirth and regeneration of a new world. This very quotation marks Shelley as a poet of inspiration, hope, and optimism who sees the rays of hope even through the worst condition.

In light of the above discussion, we can say that Shelley’s optimism is vividly visible/traceable in the poem “Ode to the West Wind”. In fact, the very poem is a poetic manifestation of Shelley’s hope and optimism.