To a skylark stanza explanation. To a Skylark Stanza 6 2022-12-16
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John Steinbeck was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and writer whose work, "Of Mice and Men," is a classic of literature. Set during the Great Depression, the novella follows two itinerant workers, George and Lennie, as they travel together and dream of one day owning their own farm. Along the way, they encounter various challenges and conflicts, both internal and external, as they struggle to make their way in a harsh and unforgiving world.
One of the most enduring themes of "Of Mice and Men" is the importance of companionship and the need for human connection. Despite their dreams of independence and self-sufficiency, George and Lennie rely on each other for emotional support and motivation. They share a deep bond and friendship that sustains them as they face the many challenges of life on the road. This theme is particularly poignant in the context of the Great Depression, a time when many people were struggling to find their place in a society that seemed increasingly hostile and uncaring.
Another key theme of the novella is the power of dreams and the ways in which they can both inspire and deceive us. George and Lennie's dream of owning their own farm is a source of hope and motivation for them, but it also serves as a reminder of the many obstacles and setbacks they must overcome. In the end, their dream is ultimately shattered, and they are forced to confront the harsh realities of their circumstances.
Despite its themes of loss and disappointment, "Of Mice and Men" is ultimately a hopeful and uplifting story. Through the portrayal of George and Lennie's deep friendship and their shared dreams, Steinbeck shows that even in the darkest of times, it is possible to find meaning and purpose in life. The novella has remained a beloved and enduring work of literature for nearly a century, and its themes of friendship, hope, and the power of the human spirit continue to resonate with readers to this day.
Shelley’s Poetry “To a Skylark” Summary & Analysis
Human Spirit Another theme of the poem is the human spirit's pursuit of happiness. The second stanza ends with an important rhetorical device known as chiasmus. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1980. Its flight is like floating—pure and easy. The bird must have a different outlook on death from that which we humans have, Shelley argues, otherwise how could the bird sing notes so clear and beautiful? It is like a golden glow-worm, scattering light among the flowers and grass in which it is hidden. Who has not wanted in their bleakest moments a quick fix, an instant reprieve, or away into perpetual joy? As Desmond King-Hele has pointed out, addressing a skylark is a fiction, and that fiction is based on the notion of a conceit a complex, implied comparison in which a poet juxtaposes images or ideas that seemingly have no real correspondence but which serve to make an important and memorable statement. The unseen but still singing skylark is compared to a poet composing, a maiden in love, a glowworm throwing out its beams of light, a rose in bloom diffusing its scent, and the sound of rain on twinkling grass.
The poem, then, is not so much about a skylark as it is about happiness. In the first stanza, Wordsworth asks the lark whether it preferes to soar on high or spend time in its nest, and he concludes that the lark has the capacity for both. What he is fascinated by is the happiness that, for him, is present in the song of the bird. Okay, so maybe that's a terrible idea. Man knows pain, experiences weariness, annoyance, and love's satiety. The bird represents the pure, unbridled happiness that Shelley is desperately seeking. Stanzas 13-14 The speaker asks the skylark to share with him its inspiration because humans have never praised love or wine as passionately as the skylark has displayed its emotions.
Think we could grow our hair out and start a band called Skÿlark? What thou art we know not; What is most like thee? In the first section, the speaker addresses the bird whose song he hears but that he cannot see high in the sky, where its warbling fills the air with sweet music. From rainbow clouds there flow not Drops so bright to see As from thy presence showers a rain of melody. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1971. What objects are the fountains Of thy happy strain? Fifteenth Stanza What objects are the fountains Of thy happy strain? We jump up with the skylark, springing into the air, away from the earth. They fear death because they are ignorant of what lies beyond death, among other reasons. Chorus Hymeneal, Or triumphal chant, Match'd with thine would be all But an empty vaunt, A thing wherein we feel there is some hidden want.
Explication of "To a Skylark" by Percy Bysshe Shelly cliff notes 2292, Sample of Essays
All of these earthly things, though beautiful, are unseen and thus unappreciated. Songs sung in praise of love or wine or music played for a wedding or a celebration cannot compare in loveliness with the song of the skylark. To us it feels just like a bird in flight. What shapes of sky or plain? Nineteenth Stanza Yet if we could scorn Hate, and pride, and fear; If we were things born Not to shed a tear, I know not how thy joy we ever should come near. An ode is a poem praising someone or something, and apostrophe is a literary device wherein an author speaks to someone or something that cannot respond. Many of Shelley's works adhere to these themes, such as his most famous poems ''Ozymandias'' 1818 , ''Ode to the West Wind'' 1819 , and '' To a Skylark'' 1820.
What objects are the fountains Of thy happy strain? Because Shelley portrays the skylark as totally happy and not needing to confront mortality, one can conclude that the bird symbolizes ultimate joy, maybe even a Platonic ideal. Yet if we could scorn Hate, and pride, and fear; If we were things born Not to shed a tear, I know not how thy joy we ever should come near. Romanticism was a movement that emphasized emotion over reason, the person over society, and the natural over the artificial. What love of thine own kind? He is still unsure of what to make of a creature who is beyond the descriptive powers of human language, and so he beseeches his beloved bird to instruct him. This is a relatively unimportant matter.
In the golden lightning Of the sunken sun, O'er which clouds are bright'ning, Thou dost float and run; Like an unbodied joy whose race is just begun. The skylark knows what lies beyond death, and the nature of what it knows banishes its fear of death. Soon after this, he eloped with a 16-year-old woman, Harriet Westbrook, whom he soon tired. Themes of ''To a Skylark'' The themes of ''To a Skylark'' are nature and the human spirit. The conceit in this poem is the skylark, a creature whose description dominates the entire poem, with whom the poet seeks to communicate. As a poet, he is trying to relate to this flood of art and has in his life never seen anything that can inspire such beauty. He wants to know if the skylark is singing about the landscape or other birds or simply because it knows nothing of pain.
Line 10 And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest. Shelley pursues two main lines of thought in the poem. In 1822, not long before he was meant to turn 30, Shelley was drowned in a storm while sailing in his schooner on the way to La Spezia, Italy. These natural comparisons are those that bring Shelley the closest to relaying the emotion he felt while hearing and briefly seeing the skylark. See eNotes Ad-Free Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. He is determined in his questions, willing the bird with all his might to answer.
A Summary and Analysis of Percy Shelley’s ‘To a Skylark’
So, this is where that golden lightning is coming from: a beautiful sunset lighting up the sky. It is no wonder that it is incomparably happy. Nature A major element of Romanticism is the superiority of nature over the artificial. What love of thine own kind? Shelley is stunned by the music produced by the bird and entranced by its movement as it flies into the clouds and out of sight. Shelly was expelled because of a pamphlet he wrote entitled The Necessity of Atheism. His parents were severely disappointed in him and demanded that he forsake all of his beliefs.
