Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to the West Wind

Paul William Whickman
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Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind” was likely composed in October 1819 near Florence (Donovan 300); it first appeared in print as one of the “Miscellaneous Poems” in his 1820

Prometheus Unbound

volume. Sharing thematic and formal concerns with other poems in the volume as well as others composed in 1819, “Ode to the West Wind” is a poem that is also informed by its particular historical context.

Literary and Historical Context

Literary and Historical Context

The year 1819 was a remarkable one in literary history. James Chandler notes the sheer “quantity and quality of extraordinary writings produced in a relatively brief epoch” (Chandler xiii); during that same year appeared such major works as the first two cantos of Byron’s Don Juan and the six odes that ensured the

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Citation: Whickman, Paul William. "Ode to the West Wind". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 April 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34176, accessed 12 October 2024.]

34176 Ode to the West Wind 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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