Nathaniel Christian O. Tan Essays - , Term Papers

Nathaniel Christian O. Tan Mr. Ben Josephson Grade 10 English March 26, 2017 Ode to a Skylark: Commentary on the First Five Stanzas In "To a Skylark," Percy Shelley praises a skylark by treating it as if it was a spirit. By doing this, Shelley opens a new world of imagery that would only be usable by combining the two elements of a skylark and a spirit. Doing so also helps set an atmosphere that fits with the somewhat surreal and beautiful imagery. In addition to this, multiple other literary devices are utilized throughout the poem. However t he use of i magery, comparison, and structure are all especially prevalent in the first 5 stanzas of the poem. Shelley describes the skylark as a "blithe Spirit," painting an image of a bird that is free to soar the skies ; this emphasis on freedom is the basis for a lot of the imagery in the poem and helps illustrate the skylark further . This is reflected in the second stanza when he says the skylark " springest " from earth "higher and higher," as if there were no limitations to the skylark's flight. This is further expanded upon directly by associating the skylark with heaven, saying that the Skylark is singing "from Heaven, or near it." In other words, the skylark is even free to fly up to the gates of heaven, ignoring the limitations of our sky and quite possibly, even our imagination. Another subject that is prevalent via imagery is the changing of the skies. The skylark is perceived from multiple skies ranging from "sunken sun(s)" to "pale purple even( ings )," this establishes a sort of permanence and activity from the skylark. Furthermore, the "sunken sun" is al so described with "golden lightning" while the moon is described as a "silver sphere" with "arrows." In addition to painting the scenery, this also leads to an important topic within the subject of comparison . There is a clear contrast between the activities of the skylark during the day and during the night, this is hinted at throughout the poem and is the core principle behind the contrasts found throughout the poem . Firstly, the sun is described with "golden lightning," a piece of imagery that can only be viewed in the aspect of color as there is no literal golden lightning around the sunset. In contrast, the moon is sharply described as a "silver sphere" with "arrows," its use of imagery is more literal as the rays of the moon could really be the arrows of the moon in a sense. The imagery around the moon requires no reliance in color , this reflects how the presence of the skylark is more obvious within the night than within the day. This is reaffirmed in the similarities between the skylark and its depiction as something "Like a star of Heaven, / In the broad day-light." With heaven referring to the freedom of the skylark's operation, the star in broad da ylight references how the presence of stars are not easily discerned within the day while they are relatively easy to spot at night. These comparisons with rather humongous figures further allude to the skylark's power and majesty as a spirit. The size of "To a Skylark" is big when compared to other poems , this quality of scale along with other structural aspects further develop the depiction of the skylark and its relations . This poem is composed of 21 stanzas and utilizes a Quintain pattern. The structure this creates is reminiscent of the "profuse strains of unpremeditated art" described in the first stanza. This also likens the skylark to Shelley as, much like how the skylark creates "art" via chirping, Shelley is also capable of creating art in a similar manner as the skylark (a prime example would be the structure of this poem). Another effect of the structure is the distribution of words per stanza. The first 4 lines of the poem is short while the final line is bigger. This can be interpreted as Shelley's view of the skylark, he is set on the long last line while the skylark transcends him. It attests to how the skylark is