GROUP NO.

4
SUBMITTED BY
MAHA SHAHID
MAHNOOR ASLAM
SAMREEN NUSRAT
WARISHA

MAM RABIA FAIZ

 INTRODUCTION;

• WRITTEN in 1820,

• The Cloud represents nature that is powerful, fearful but golorious and
beautiful at the same time.

• cloud symbolizes human emotions that varies continously like changings in

weather.

• The cloud is Personified as angelic and immortal.

• It seems that cloud is a person telling about burdens of human life.

• The functions that cloud performs for creatures to survive on earth are
presented in this poem.

• P.B SHELLEY personifies the cloud by giving it life and personality.

• Further the cloud tells its own story, so that the poem becomes an autobiography of
the cloud.

• The poet conceives the cloud as separate living entity. His Capacity to give a
separate and, independent life to various objects of nature and the forces of
nature is known as Shelley’s myths making power.

• Not only the cloud but thunder and lightening are also personified here.

• Cloud show's Shelley's high imaginative power.

 Poem;

 THE CLOUD BY P.B SHELLEY

 When it was written: “The Cloud” by Percy Bysshe Shelley was published
in the 1820 collection titled “Prometheus Unbound, A Lyrical Drama, in
Four Acts, With Other Poems”.

 How it’s structured: The poem has six stanzas, and each stanza has a
different length. Each stanza is made up of smaller parts called quatrains.

 How it sounds: The poem has a special rhythm called anapestic meter. This
means that every third syllable is stressed or emphasized.
 Rhyme; The poem’s rhyme pattern is like a song, with the second and fourth lines in
each stanza rhyming. There’s also a rhyme within each stanza in the first line and every
other odd-numbered line.

 What it uses: Shelley brings the cloud to life by treating it like a person. He also uses
images of change and rebirth, showing the cloud as a symbol of nature’s never-ending
cycle.

 What it’s about: The poem encourages readers to think about the eternal rhythms of
life, find beauty in change, and see nature in a way that goes beyond the ordinary. It
suggests that the cloud is a symbol of change and inspiration, moving us from
indifference to spiritual energy.
Stanza 1
 Explanation

I bring fresh showers for the thirsting

flowers,
From the seas and the streams;
I bear light shade for the leaves when
laid
In their noonday dreams.
From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
The sweet buds every one,

• The clouds bring rain to refresh the fading flowers. It brings this rain from
oceans and rivers. The cloud casts shade over the leaves noon-time when they
seem to be asleep and dreaming. Drops of water fall from the cloud to awaken
the sleeping buds which had gone to sleep on their mother’s breast.
As she dances about the sun.
I wield the flail of the lashing
hail, And whiten the green plains under,
And then again I dissolve it in rain,
And laugh as I pass in thunder.

 The cloud flings below on earth the hailstones which make the green
fields look white.
 The loud sound of thunder is the laughter of the cloud. In these lines,
several activities of the cloud are depicted in a series of pictures.
Stanza 2
 Line- by- line Explanation

I sift the snow on the mountains below,

And their great pines groan aghast;”

 The speaker maintains their position atop the mountain, still

overseeing the snowfall and the reaction of the trees to the storm.
“And all the night ‘tis my pillow white,
While I sleep in the arms of the blast.”

 The snow continues to act as the speaker’s resting place, and

despite the intensity of the storm, they find comfort in its embrace.
 Continue….

Sublime on the towers of my skiey bowers,

“

Lightning my pilot sits;”

 Here, the storm’s lightning is personified as a pilot, perched atop the metaphorical
“towers” of the storm clouds, guiding the speaker through the tumultuous night.

“In a cavern under is fettered the thunder,

It struggles and howls at fits;”

 Thunder is depicted as being confined or restrained within a cavern beneath the

storm, occasionally breaking free with powerful bursts of sound.
“Over earth and ocean, with gentle
motion, This pilot is guiding me,”

The lightning pilot navigates the speaker across both land and
sea, suggesting a journey guided by the storm’s force.

“Lured by the love of the genii that move

In the depths of the purple sea;”

The speaker is drawn by the allure of mystical beings (“genii”)

that reside within the depths of the sea, adding an element of
enchantment to their journey.
“Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills,
Over the lakes and the plains,”
• The journey continues across various terrains, from small streams
(“rills”) to rugged cliffs (“crags”) and open plains.

“Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream,

The Spirit he loves remains;”
• The lightning pilot remains devoted to a certain spirit, suggesting a
sense
of purpose or duty in guiding the speaker through the storm.

“And I all the while bask in Heaven’s blue smile,

Whilst he is dissolving in rains”
• As the lightning pilot fulfills his role in the storm the speaker finds
themselves basking in the tranquility of the sky above, contrasting with
the turbulence below.
Stanza 3
 Line- by- line Explanation :-

“The sanguine Sunrise, with his meteor eyes,

And his burning plumes outspread,”

 The sunrise is described as “sanguine,” meaning blood-red, with eyes likened to meteors
and its rays compared to burning feathers extending outwards. This vivid imagery
personifies the sunrise as a dynamic and awe-inspiring celestial being.

“Leaps on the back of my sailing rack,

When the morning star shines dead;”

 The sunrise is depicted as leaping onto what seems to be a cloud (“sailing rack”)
as it ascends into the sky, occurring when the morning star fades from view.
on the jag of a mountain crag,
Which an earthquake rocks and swings,”

 This simile compares the precariousness of the sunrise’s position to an eagle

momentarily perched on a jagged mountain crag that is being shaken by an
earthquake. It emphasizes the fleeting and intense nature of the sunrise’s
appearance.
“An eagle alit one moment may sit
In the light of its golden wings.”

 Like the eagle briefly resting in the sunlight, the sunrise’s brilliance is highlighted,
particularly in the glow of its golden rays.

“And when Sunset may breathe, from the lit

Sea breath, Its ardours of rest and of love ,”

 The sunset is described as exhaling warmth and affection (“ardours of rest and of love”),
“And the crimson pall of eve may fall
From the depth of Heaven above,”

 The evening sky is depicted as being draped in a crimson veil

(“crimson pall”), descending from the depths of the heavens.


“With wings folded I rest, on mine aëry nest,

As still as a brooding dove.”

 The speaker compares themselves to a bird resting in their high-

altitude nest (“aëry nest”), finding peace and stillness amidst the
changing skies, much like a dove brooding over its eggs.
STANZA 4
,
 Line- by- line Explanation

“That orbèd maiden with white fire laden,

Whom mortals call the Moon” .

 The cloud describes the moon as a beautiful, radiant maiden, laden with
white fire ( moonlight).

“Glides glimmering o’er my

fleece-like floor,
By the midnight breezes strewn” .
 The moon glides across the cloud’s soft, white surface, which is
“And wherever the beat of her
unseen feet,
Which only the angels hear” .

The cloud suggests that the moon’s movement is so gentle that only the angels can
hear it.

“May have broken the woof

of my tent’s thin roof,
The stars peep behind her and peer” .

The moon’s movement may have created a small opening in the cloud’s “tent” (its
wispy edges), allowing the stars to peek through.
“And I laugh to see them whirl and flee,
Like a swarm of golden bees” .

 The cloud delights in seeing the stars twinkling and moving quickly, like a swarm
of golden bees.

“When I widen the rent in my

wind-built tent, Till calm the rivers,
 When the cloud opens up its wispy edges, the moonlight and starlight pour down,
calming the bodies of water below.

“Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high,

Are each paved with the moon and these” .

 The cloud’s openings allow the moon and stars to shine through, creating a
Stanza 5
 Line- by- line Explanation:-

I bind the Sun’s throne with a burning zone,

And the Moon’s with a girdle of pearl”

• The cloud describes its ability to encircle and adorn the Sun and
Moon with its radiant light and misty veil.

“The volcanoes are dim,

and the stars reel and swim,

• The cloud’s power is so great that it can dim the volcanoes’ fiery
glow and make the stars appear to reel and swim in the sky,
When the whirlwinds my banner unfurl”
From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape,
Over a torrent sea,
Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof”
 The cloud describes its ability to form a banner that stretch from one end of the sky
to the other, forming a bridge-like shape over the turbulent sea, and providing a
protective roof from the Sun’s beams.

“The mountains its columns be”

 The cloud’s power is supported by the mountains, which serve as its columns.

“The triumphal arch through which I march

With hurricane, fire, and snow”
 The cloud describes its triumphant procession across the sky, accompanied by
hurricane-force winds, fire, and snow.
When the Powers of the air
are chained to my chair”

 The cloud’s power is so great that it can command the very elements
themselves, chaining them to its throne.

“Is the million-coloured bow;

 The cloud’s power is manifested in the beautiful, multi-coloured rainbow

that appears in the sky.“

The sphere-fire above its soft colours wove,

While the moist Earth was laughing below”

 The cloud’s radiant light and colours are woven into the fabric of the sky,
STANZA 6
 Line -by- line Explanation:-

“I am the daughter of Earth and Water,

And the nursling of the Sky

 The speaker identifies themselves as a child of the natural world, born

from the elements of earth, water, and sky.

I pass through the pores of the ocean

and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.”

 The speaker describes their ability to flow and move through the natural
world, like water, and their capacity for transformation and renewal, rather
than death.
“For after the rain when with never a
stain
The pavilion of Heaven is bare,”

 The speaker describes the clearing of the sky after a rainstorm,

leaving it unblemished and pure.

“And the winds and sunbeams with

their convex gleams
Build up the blue dome of air,”

 The speaker describes the rebuilding of the sky by the winds and
sunbeams, creating a beautiful, curved expanse of blue.
“I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,”

The speaker expresses a quiet, introspective joy at their own cyclical

nature, and their emergence from the “caverns of rain,” symbolizing
rebirth.

“Like a child from the womb,

like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.”

The speaker compares their emergence to a child being born, and a

ghost rising from the dead, highlighting their ability to be reborn and
start anew, unbuilding and rebuilding the natural world around them.
 Themes of poem :-

Creativity and transformation:

The poem explores the transformative power
of nature, showing how clouds can change shape and
form, symbolizing the constant process of creation and
renewal in the natural world. This theme encourages
reflection on the cyclical nature of life and the potential
for growth and change.
 Continue….

Interconnectedness of nature:

 The poem explores the theme of interconnectedness of nature

By portraying the cloud as a dynamic and interconnected part
of the natural world, the poem emphasizes the unity and
harmony that exists in nature. This theme highlights the idea
that all living beings are interconnected and part of a larger
whole.
 Conclusion

The conclusion of poem emphasizes

the cloud’s eternal and transformative
nature, as well as its connection to the
natural world.
Thank
you🙃