short summary of skylark by William wordsworth
Answers
‘To the Skylark’ is a romantic poem written by William Wordsworth (1770-1850). The main theme of the poem is beauty, joy and mystery in nature.
The poet W. Wordsworth in this poem takes the skylark as the subject matter of his poetry and rounding it he lets his store of imagination go out and address to the skylark as ‘Ethereal Minstrel’ by that the poet wants to mean that the skylark is not an earthly being but a heavenly bird. Again he says metaphorically that the bird skylark is the “pilgrim of the sky” that means that the sky is a holy place were the bird pilgrimages with a religious heart. After saying so, the poet asks the bird weather it despises the Earth which is full of sorrows and sufferance and whether she remembers the earth where its nest lies behind while it sours up to heaven. The bird can, though goes high up to the sky, drops down into its nest at will and then its music comes to an end.
In the second stanza, the poet says that this bird flies up to the last vision of human eyes and even it can fly beyond the mountain. While it sours up high it sings a song which is full of love and joy. Her young one lies on its nest. The poet says that there is a never-failing bond between it and its young ones. Its song is so joyous that the song thrills the bosom of human being that lives on this earth. The skylark has the special privilege that it can sing the song all the season which the other birds cannot do.
In the third stanza, the poet compares the skylark with the nightingale and says that nightingale is a bird which lives in shady wood but the skylark can live in light also. It sings so melodious song that with its melody it inundates the world. The poet says that it sings the song from its instinct but in its instinct there is more divine inspiration. At last the poet comes to the conclusion that the bird is a type of a wise man. As a wise man does not forget his duty to God, though the lives on this mortal earth full of sorrow and sufferance, so is the bird though it lives on earth it does not forget its devotion God for which it sours up to heaven.
The poem as its theme and attitude have shown towards skylark, a being of nature is a romantic one as the poet sees and feels joy, beauty and mystery not in human society but in Nature and in natural objects. The poem is mystic as the poet looks at the bird with a mystic outlook and sees the spirit of God in it.
The poem is full of nature imagery. The skylark’s soaring up so high, its special privilege to sing in all seasons and its comparison with nightingale—all the imageries are very sensitive which the poet visualizes in this piece of poetry.
In it there are two fine novel metaphors as—‘Ethereal Minstrel’, and ‘pilgrim of the sky’.
In conclusion, it is to say that ‘To the Skylark’ is fine romantic poetry with a didactic lesson in it written in a simple style.
Explanation:
To the Skylark' is a romantic poem written by William Wordsworth (1770-1850). The main theme of the poem is beauty, joy and mystery in nature. ... Again he says metaphorically that the bird skylark is the “pilgrim of the sky” that means that the sky is a holy place were the bird pilgrimages with a religious heart.