Ode to the West Wind

Vocabulary:

Dirge: funeral march
Zenith: highest point of the sky
Sepulcher: a tomb
Vapors: mist; fog;
Lulled: to be put into a state of sleepiness or drowsiness;
Azure: intensely blue
Sap: without sap
Cleave: has two meanings; it means to cut in half, but it also means to cling to each other.
Chasm: it is an abyss.
Pumice: rough, volcanic rock
Imagery:
Quivering within the wave’s intenser day.
Lyre: a small harp
Tumult: disorder; chaos
Incantation: to chant; a spell; magic
Unextinguished: not put out, raging like a fire;
Hearth: fireplace
Terza Rima: third rhyme
Terza Rima: the repetition of a,b,a, and then the rhyme b is repeated on the first line of the next stanza and the second line begins a new rhyme scheme, C. The writer does this to create unity and coherence in the poem. The B rhyme throws a line to the next stanza which anchors the next stanza to the first stanza. It creates a unifying thought or theme of the poem. “Ode to the West Wind” is a classic example of the terza rima. An ode honors or pays homage to a person or a thing.

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