Respond to all three of the following prompts.
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- Shelley employs the terza rima stanza in “Ode to the West Wind.” Define the terza rima stanza and discuss how Shelley uses it in the poem.
- Each section of “Ode to the West Wind” is 14 lines long. In what way does Shelley evoke the sonnet structure here? How can each section be considered an experimental sonnet? Can this be considered a sonnet sequence?
- All three of the poems read for today are written in the wake of political violence following the conclusion of the Napoleonic War. Shelley was particularly disturbed by the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. What was the Peterloo Massacre and how does Shelley respond to it in his poetry? Focus your response on one of the two poems read for today. [Corrected: sorry for the error!]