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 or tells with its songs. Like a poet expressing his thoughts, the bird sings songs that no one actually asks for. In the spring the Skylark’s song awakens the world which shows how much power the little bird has.
As the poem progresses Shelly starts to wonder where the Skylark gets it’s inspiration from. He is jealous, in a good way, and wishes he could create something as powerful . Shelly admires the most, how the skylark sounds very joyous. People may get their inspiration from happiness but it is often connected to sadness as people dwell upon memories and hopes . Shelly asks the lark to teach him to sound as joyous because he says that none of the existent books could ever teach him such art. Shelly ends the poem by asking the bird to teach him at least half of his skills so that the world would listen to his poetry in the way he admires the Skylark’s singing.
Wordsworth
Wordsworth’s poem is more about the speaker rather than the bird. It also praises the lark and its ability to sound joyous but it concentrates more on the wish to reach the same heights as the bird.
The poem starts with Wordsworth asking the bird to lift him up and teach him. He wishes to reach the place where the lark gets it’s inspiration from.
I have walked through wildernesses dreary
And to-day my heart is weary;
Had I now the wings of a Faery,
Up to thee would I fly.
These lines create the image that Wordsworth was walking in the woods when he saw a skylarks’ nest up high and that was what gave him inspiration. He wishes he could fly like a fairy and join the singing bird.
Wordsworth feels that the bird must have a strong soul to create something so mad but at the same time joyful. He feels that they would fit to be together but as he needs to get on with his journey he must sate with just hearing the bird. All in all he is happy he had the chance to enjoy the jolly music and hopes it happens again sometime.
Comparison: differences
Even though both poems are about the same bird and its singing they are quite different in many ways .
Shelly’s poems in much longer and thus also more in-depth. It tries to portray the ways how the Skylark is exceeding properly by giving more metaphors to the bird and comparing it to various things. Wordsworth’s poem on the other hand concentrates on how he wishes to join the bird and be as good as the lark. He gives forth his main idea strictly without wasting so much time on glorifying the bird itself.
Also another difference is that Shelly wishes to be as good as the Skylark because he wishes that others listened to his work . Wordsworth doesn’t express the need to be heard. He wishes to be good to create something jolly but he doesn’t express his hunger for attention .
The third difference that I noticed was that for Shelly the bird is something mystical and unseen. He could only hear the singing of the bird. In my opinion it added a great deal to the bird’s value as it seemed supernatural. In Wordsworth’s poem the bird was visible and the poet saw in front of him.
Comparison: similarities
There were also some interesting similarities in these poems in addition to the fact that they were both about the Skylark.
Both poets saw the bird as something almighty. They both felt that the lark had skills above their own and wondered about its inspiration. They felt that they had something to learn from the bird and with that they gave credit to the bird’s skills.
What was very interesting was that the use of words in the two poems was, in my opinion, quite similar . They both used the words madness and joyful to describe the birds singing.
The characteristics of a romantic poem were also the same. Both of them had nature in them for example in the form of the bird. They idealised the bird’s skills and described its singing as a work of art.
In short both poems were very good but I personally liked Shelley’s more because it helped me create a better picture of how special the bird really was. Wordsworth’s poem was a bit too blunt for me. Even though I usually dislike long descriptions, in this case they made the poem better.