Social Justice And Peace

Shelley was a poet of early nineteenth century, who continued to bring out individual liberty. Though his writing of poetry he hoped to bring a new idea of the world to others, by envisioning a world of freedom in which there should be no slavery and no mistreatment. In the poem ‘To a Skylark', he writes a skylark that sings a sweet melody and soars up at a great height and songs sung so sweetly that has the world strung by its melody.

Shelley perceives the Skylark as the most magnificent thing in the sky. The, sun, the stars the moon and clouds, are enchanted and its sweet melody. The Skylark (small bird) is a spirt, unseen to others but gives others happiness around the world. It represents the new world free of dishonesty, abuse and slavery. The Skylark signifies the poet’s imagination, eternal joy and harbinger of peace and progress. He then explains that all the wonderful things that people can bring can’t even compare to this bird’s song.

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The bird’s song is joy on the other hand human’s songs are sadness. Finally, the speaker wishes to be able to sing as freely and happily as the bird. This essay will critically examine three different connections the poet brings out and message to others. sadness, happiness and man and the natural world.

Sadness, the speaker explains the reasons why people can’t stop but to feel this emotion. People can’t just feel happiness in the moment, yet they always think of the past and what’s yet to come.

The more efforts the poet tries to convey the message of the power of the bird’s song he comes to realize that it is impossible. Being human he is left to feel what he is missing, the things that he can’t have. As quoted “We look before and after, and pine for what is not:” In contrast to humans the speaker speaks differently of the bird’s happiness as being pure joy. He uses different words in describing the bird’s happiness. He uses the words 'shrill delight” he wants us to think and focus on the sound, and to perceive the bird’s song as an appearance of pure joy, an explosion of natural happiness. As slowly pulling us away from the image of the skylark as an ordinary, little brown bird. “Thou art unseen, but yet I hear thy shrill delight”

The speaker points out to us that the skylark is a mystical being and more than just a bird. This is something that throws the reader off in the beginning of the poem being that the poem should be about a bird. Though it shows us from the beginning that this poem isn’t about reality and beginning literally. Instead this poem is about emotion, purity and spirt, amongst many other things. As quoted “Bird thou never wert, (2)” In the ending stanzas, Shelley’s ideas came about rather than the subject of the poem. This poem represented his struggle that he had and in hopes to change the world. He brings out the inspiration to others that one day his words word be heard though this sweet song of the skylark.

References

• Percy Bysshe Shelley - Poetry Foundation
• Poem Analysis - Percy Bysshe Shelley’s To a Skylark
• SparkNotes - Percy Shelley: Poems: “To a Skylark”
• The Waning Moon by Percy Bysshe Shelley | Poetry Foundation
• To a Skylark Introduction | Shmoop