“Western Wind” falls under the category of an apostrophe, meaning that it is a poem which is addressed to an inanimate object or an absent individual. In this particular case, the poem addresses the “Western wind” (Line 1). In Greek mythology, Zephyros (Zephyrus) is the god of the West wind, conceived as a “gentle” wind which ushers in spring and warmer weather. In Roman mythology, the god of the West wind was known as Favonius.

The speaker questions the West wind in the first line of the poem and asks it “when will thou blow” (Line 1). The speaker focuses their question on “the small rain” (Line 2). They want to know when the West wind will blow the rain. However, it is uncertain whether the speaker wants the rain to be pushed towards them to serve as a harbinger of new life and seasonal change, or wants the rain to be pushed away and its dreariness dissipated. Both readings are viable. “The small rain” (Line 2) makes it sound like the rain is a short, passing thunderstorm as opposed to an extended natural event. Or rather, the rain could be “small,” as in, just a drizzle.