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This sonnet is written by Percy Bysshe Shelley. P.B. Shelley was amongst the main English Romantic poets. One of his best-known (familiar) works is ‘ Ode to the West Wind. ‘Additionally, the metaphors that are manipulated in this sonnet are clear examples of this fact.
Metaphors in This Poem
‘O wild West Wind, thou breathe of Autumn’s being’ In the first line, the autumn is seen as a human being that can breathe. The breath of autumn is the wind of the west. There are two metaphors in this line. The Autumn is that human being and The Wild West Wind is a human. As opposed to ‘breath’ and which maintains Autumn, this metaphor gives the west wind approximately mystical meaning. The narrator indicates that the west wind is most probably synonymous with Autumn.
The second line is a used metaphor. Leaves are emphasized as dead. Death depends on human experience, and here Leaves are qualified as a human beings. And also in the fourth line, it is mentioned that the Leaves are ‘pale and hectic.’ These words describe human beings and are metaphorical.
There is a metaphor inline six. ‘Dark wintry bed’ is referred to the grave of the leaves. The poet emphasized that the grave is a bed and death is sleep. The grave and dark are pretty cold like winter.
In the seventh line, The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low, define the seed condition in the soil after the sweeping is made by the west wind. Wings are like angels and the seeds are reflected vividly. This is another metaphor and the poet described plants as living.
Spring thunder is described as the clarion of the spring breeze in ‘Her clarion o’er the dreaming earth’ Since a clarion is a sort of instrument and living things are almost always the owner of it in particular, Therefore, this ninth line has a metaphor. That is, the Wind is expressed as a human.
Bases of comparison in this poem
Shelley compares it to the minimal life we are granted on the planet. The wind is a common force of the ‘West Wind’ which helps the leaves to fly until their death. The wind is strong and presents a kind of freedom.
There is a simile in the third line. This simile is a comparison of dead leaves to ghosts. The poet emphasized that dead leaves are terrible like ghosts.
‘The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each is like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow
There is a metaphor in the seventh line. This metaphor is the comparison of seeds to flying creatures.
The narrator extends the metaphor of the leaves as the dead by describing that the wind takes them and ‘winged seeds’ to their graves, ‘where they lie cold and low.’ Then to compare each leaf to a corpse within its grave’ the speaker uses a simile. This simile is the comparison of each seed to a corpse. The narrator states that until the winds come in, each is like a ‘corpse’, carrying away the dead but offering a better beginning. The use of the term ‘azure’ to characterize the wind (breeze) compares strongly with the colors used to define the leaves.
There is a personification in lines 9-10. This personification is the comparison of spring wind to a person. The spring wind has the feature of making sound, so it has been compared to human beings. And also line 10 has metaphor and personification. This line is a comparison of the earth to a dreamer. According to this line, the earth can sleep, wake up and dream like a human.
Finally, there is a simile in line 11. This simile is a comparison of buds to flocks. The poet compares a farm pushing flocks of sheep with a simile ‘Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in the air’ with the spring storm catalyzing the flowers into full bloom.
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