In this apocalyptic poem Shelley characterises it as a destructive and fearsome force, yet it is also a harbinger of the inevitable coming of Spring. It is, therefore, both Destroyer and Creator, and Shelley sees the West Wind as a symbol of the regeneration which will follow the destruction and Death of Winter. In a personal sense Shelley addresses the Wind as a force which will reinvigorate him, the Wind of Spirit and Inspiration, at …showed first 75 words of 304 total…

…showed last 75 words of 304 total…wheel of the seasons and the cycles of Life-and-Death. The final effect of the poem is ambivalent, a mixture of depression and hope, signalled by the question-mark which ends the poem. Is Shelley here affirming that Spring (in a personal, social and spiritual sense) will inevitably follow this Winter, or is that simply imposing a human construction on Nature, with no guarantee that new life and purpose will follow the destructiveness of the Autumn wind?