Right from the title the intelligent reader understands that the ode will deal with qualities of the west wind.

Each stanza consists of four tercets (ABA, BCB, CDC, DED) and a rhyming couplet (EE). The Ode is written in iambic pentameter.

The ode is divided into 5 section each performing a definite function:

the poem begins with three stanzas that describe the wind's effects upon earth, air, and ocean. The last two stanzas Shelly appeals to the wind to ask for its power.

In the first stanza Shelly conveys the effect of the wind on the die leaves. They are driven by west wind as  ghosts that are pursued by an enchanter. The leaves are not destined to dead like the pestilence-stricken multitudes but they will regenerate in the spring. The west wind have the task to create a hope of regeneration as Shelly's poetry. The wind carries to the wintry bed the seeds that will emerge into new life in spring.

In the second stanza the author deals with effects on the sky and specially on the clouds. The cloud are scattered in the sky like the leaves in the earth. Moreover the clouds seem to be messengers that bring a message from heaven down to earth through rain and lightning.

The third stanza refers to the effect of west wind in water.

The wind disturbs the typical calm of the mediterranean sea. The waves reflect old palaces and towers of a town. We aren't able to know if the town is real or unreal. When the poet describes the ocean we have a change of tone. The violent of the west wind creates chasms in the atlantic sea and it shakes the vegetation in the depths of the sea. Finally  Shelley suddenly talks about ‘fear'. This again shows the influence of the west wind which announces the change of the season.

In the fourth stanza the author talks about himself.

The stanza is a prayer. he wish a new identity with the wind.

He believes to be a cloud or a wave or a leaf that is moved by west wind. They represent the desire for cessation and oblivion that occurs so frequently in his poetry. He wants to look like a child because they believe to have the capacity  do everything.

The last stanza is a demand and here the author talks about  fire. he wants to identify himself with the wind. The poet becomes the wind's instrument (his lyre) This is a symbol of the poet's own passivity towards the wind; he becomes his musician and the wind's breath becomes his breath. The wind has become an ‘incantation'. He wants to look like wind since both have similar objective. The west wind is able to change the nature. The wind and the poet want a change. The poet is the man who can change the society. In the final couplet the author seems to believe that may exist the regeneration(you must die and then you can regenerate self).