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The Annotated Edition

4-6. by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

This brief poem by Shelley focuses on one image — leaves blown away by a chilly autumn wind — and connects it to a well-known passage from Homer's *Iliad* that draws a parallel between leaves and human generations.

Poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley
The PoemFull text

4-6.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Even as the leaves Which the keen frost-wind of the waning year Has scattered on the forest soil. Oin per phullon genee, toiede kai andron. Phulla ta men t’ anemos chamadis cheei, alla de th’ ule Telethoosa phuei, earos d’ epigignetai ore. Os andron genee, e men phuei, e d’ apolegei. Iliad Z, line 146.

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

This brief poem by Shelley focuses on one image — leaves blown away by a chilly autumn wind — and connects it to a well-known passage from Homer's *Iliad* that draws a parallel between leaves and human generations. The concept is straightforward and timeless: humans appear and disappear like leaves on a tree, swept away by the wind, only to be succeeded by fresh growth in spring. This metaphor is among the oldest in Western literature, and Shelley is nudging us to remember that enduring lineage of human voices echoing this sentiment.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Even as the leaves / Which the keen frost-wind of the waning year

    Editor's note

    Shelley starts with an unfinished simile — we see leaves tossed about by a brisk late-autumn wind, yet there's no clear second term to wrap up the comparison. This ambiguity is intentional: it invites the reader to decide *what* resembles the leaves. The phrase "waning year" serves a dual purpose, referring to both the fading season and the feeling of time slipping away.

  2. Oin per phullon genee, toiede kai andron.

    Editor's note

    Shelley quotes four lines of ancient Greek from Book VI of Homer's *Iliad* (lines 146–149), where the warrior Glaucus speaks to Diomedes on the battlefield. The Greek translates roughly to: *"As the leaves come and go, so too do men. The wind blows the leaves to the ground, but the living forest flourishes and produces more in the returning spring. One generation of men rises as another fades away."* By placing Homer's original Greek directly below his own English lines, Shelley reveals that his three lines aren't entirely original but rather a deliberate echo—a modern poet connecting with the same imagery from centuries ago.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone is quiet and reflective — there's no fear of death, just a calm, almost accepting acknowledgment of it. The frost-wind is "keen," implying sharpness and clarity instead of aggression. Shelley isn't grieving; he's observing. The use of Greek adds a scholarly, respectful touch to the piece, as if he's paying homage to an ancestor.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

Leaves
The main symbol of the poem comes straight from Homer. Leaves represent individual human lives — vibrant for a short time, then scattered and lost, making way for the next generation. This imagery resonates because leaves are both beautiful and completely disposable.
The frost-wind
Death, time, or any greater force that takes a life without malice or ceremony. It is "keen" — sharp, efficient, and indifferent.
The waning year
Late autumn serves as a metaphor for the conclusion of a life or the decline of a civilization. "Waning" suggests a gradual dimming instead of an abrupt end, which creates a gentler portrayal of mortality.
The Greek quotation
The Homer passage represents literary continuity, reflecting how humans have been expressing similar thoughts on death and time for thousands of years. This repetition offers a form of comfort.

§06Historical context

Historical context

Shelley penned this fragment before his untimely drowning in 1822 at just 29 years old. It’s part of a loose collection of brief writings and notebook drafts that were published after his death. The Homeric quote he includes is from a striking moment in the *Iliad*, where two opposing warriors, Glaucus and Diomedes, encounter each other on the battlefield. Rather than fighting right away, they first share their family histories. Glaucus begins with a reflection on how fleeting human generations are. The leaf-simile he uses was already an old metaphor when Homer referenced it, appearing repeatedly in Greek and Latin works. Shelley, a dedicated classical scholar who translated Greek texts, would have been very familiar with this passage. The fragment feels less like a polished poem and more like a personal note — a quiet acknowledgment that the idea he wished to convey had already been articulated beautifully over two thousand years prior.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

It likely refers to a numbering system for notebooks or manuscripts that editors used after Shelley's death, rather than a title he chose himself. Many of his short fragments were recorded this way. This doesn't provide any insight into the poem's meaning.

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Poems about memoryPoems about mortalityPoems about naturePoems about time