Lecture Notes: Ode to a Skylark by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Introduction

• Poem: Ode to a Skylark
• Poet: Percy Bysshe Shelley
• Type: Ode - elaborate stanzaic structure, celebrates intense emotion or glorifies a subject
• Context: Written in 1820, inspired by the song of a skylark in Livorno, Italy
• Background: Shelley, known as an idealist among Romantic poets, faced criticism for his ideas and poetry

Key Points

• Romantic Poets:
  • Later Romantics: Shelley, Keats, Byron
  • Early Romantics: Wordsworth, Coleridge

Poem Structure

• Length: 21 stanzas, 5 lines each
• Rhyme Scheme: ABA, BD

Analysis of Stanzas

Stanza 1

• Theme: Glorification of the skylark
• Imagery: Skylark as a "blithe spirit," unseen, singing spontaneously

Stanza 2

• Imagery: Skylark compared to a "cloud of fire"
• Concept: Singing and soaring happens simultaneously

Stanza 3

• Imagery: Evening sky, bird as an "unbodied joy"

Stanza 4

• Theme: Skylark unseen like a star in daylight

Stanza 5

• Imagery: Bird's music compared to moonlight through clouds

Stanza 6

• Theme: Mystery of the skylark
• Imagery: Song as a "rain of melody"

Stanza 7

• Comparison: Skylark to a hidden poet

Stanza 8

• Comparison: Skylark to a maiden soothing herself with music

Stanza 9

• Comparison: Skylark to a glowworm among dew-covered grass

Stanza 10

• Comparison: Skylark to a rose hidden by leaves, whose scent is spread by the wind

Stanza 11

• Theme: Skylark's music surpasses all joys of nature

Conclusion

• Shelley's extensive use of similes and metaphors highlights the transcendental beauty of the skylark's song
• The poem reflects Shelley's idealism and his continuous effort to find beauty in nature despite personal criticisms