To a Skylark (1)

Comparison of P. B. Shelley ’s and W. Wordsworth ’s “To a Skylark” Poems
The Skylark is a bird whose singing is very melodical. It is an inspiration to many poets , two of them being P. B. Shelley and W. Wordsworth. The Skylark is a common nature metaphor for pure poetic expression.
Shelly
Shelley’s poem is all about praising the birds singing and how the lark can create such beautiful songs unintentionally. For the bird, singing is effortless and comes out naturally. Still the creation is harmonic and spreads joy.
The poem starts with Shelly calling the bird a “blithe spirit ” and expressing his admiration of how the song comes from the bird’s heart without any effort. “Bird thou never wert-/ That from heaven or near it” gives the mental image that Shelly doesn’t actually see the bird but only hears it. Thus the bird doesn’t exist for him as a real thing but rather as something supernatural, like a ghost sending its melody while staying unseen.
Then Shelly goes on comparing the Skylark to many various things like a cloud of fire , a star of heaven, a high-born maiden, a glow -worm, a rose etc. All this to give forth his idea of the lark as something unreachable, unseen but heard, royal , sweet and sensitive . The bird is something very mystical because nobody really knows what it feels