Identify three metaphors in "Ode to the West Wind."

Well, look no further than the first line for the first
example of a metaphor in this excellent poem. Remember that a metaphor is a comparison,
where one object is compared to something else, normally something that we wouldn't
think of comparing it to. This is a direct comparison, in that no words such as "like"
or "as" are used, as in the case of a simile.

Bearing this
in mind, the first line compares the West Wind to
Autumn:

O wild
West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's
being...

Note how this
metaphor gives the West Wind an almost spiritual significance, as it is compared to the
"breath" or that which sustains Autumn. Certainly the speaker is suggesting that the
West Wind is synonymous with Autumn.

In the second stanza
an extended metaphor is used that compares the effect of the winds on the clouds to
hair:

The
locks of the approaching
storm.

This is an impressive
image because it presents the clouds as "locks" or hair of "some fierce Maenad" being
blown around by the West Wind, ushering in the
storm.

Lastly, at the beginning of the third stanza, the
Mediterranean Sea is compared to somebody waking up from a deep
sleep:

Thou
who didst waken from his summer dreams

The blue
Mediterranean, where he lay,

Lulled by the coil of his
crystalline streams...

Here
the West Wind is pictured stirring up the huge waves as if rousing somebody from a long
repose.

Here are three examples for you. Hopefully this
will help you to find others in this excellent poem. Good luck!