Skylark City

David Taaffe

Mrs. Jernigan

English AP

March 8, 2011

“To a Skylark”

                In classic ode style Shelley opens this poem with an apostrophe addressing the spirit of a skylark. She may also be indirectly addressing the spirit of humanity as a whole. Throughout the poem she utilizes an overwhelming amount of imagery. In the third stanza she writes about “the golden lightning of the sunken sun.” She constantly uses images of natural elements of the earth.  This suggests that the author or narrator finds a deep connection with the earth and with nature.                

                Shelley also employs figurative language to demonstrate the human connection to nature. In the second stanza she writes, “From the earth thou springest like a cloud of fire.” She also throws in some classic alliteration at various points to keep a reader like me entertained. She also depicts the sklylark as a mysterious creature by writing “what thou art we know not.” This suggests that we, as humble humans, cannot completely wrap our minds around the beauty and majestic wonder of the mystifying creature.

                Shelley definitely displays a sense of awe, respect, and wonderment towards the skylark, but I do not find that she addresses the issues of truth, art, or justice. I feel that she is more concerned with the reflecting the beauty of the skylark and of nature in general. This could suggest that she finds meaning in the simple but strikingly stunning aspects of life. She wants to remind the reader what a beautiful world we live in, much like Chris Martin does in his LP Parachutes. She wants to share the joy that she has found in the spirit of the skylark.