Ode To A Skylark : Line by line explanation

  Stanzas 1–3

Poet expresses his personal impressions regarding the Skylark in the first six stanzas. At the outset, poet greets the bird as if it were a spirit singing from the heaven. The song of the bird is so delightful, so spontaneous, it seems almost impossible when it compares to an ordinary bird. In stanza 2, the bird soars even higher away from the earth; it flies in the sky, continuously singing as it ascends. The third stanza makes it clear that the bird is singing at sunset; above the sinking sun, which is sending out its last red rays for the day. The skylark flies and floats in the scene, with an ecstasy.

Stanzas 4–6

Stanza 4 goes on with the description of the skylark, with a sense of astonishment. The poet cannot detect the physical presence of the bird in the evening sky. Even though it is still daylight, the poet says, the bird is invisible, just like a star cannot be seen in daylight, but the bird can certainly be heard. In stanza 5, the poet compares the skylark to Venus, which is visible at night but fades at dawn until it can barely be seen, and yet people can sense its presence. Stanza 6 states that the whole earth and the air is full of the mellifluous voice of the skylark just like, at night, the moon can be seen shining from behind a cloud, seeming to fill the heavens with light.

 

Stanzas 7–9

Stanza 7 states that the bird seems like such a heavenly thing. The following five stanzas, contemplates something with which the bird may be compared. He first considers clouds that produce rain while a rainbow shines but concludes that raindrops are not as bright as the melody that pours forth from the skylark. In stanza 8, the skylark is compared to the mind of a poet, which also cannot be seen, but from which the poet expresses himself spontaneously in his work. The unbidden songs move the world to sympathy and hopes. poetry always reveals the hidden beauty of the world. It has also got the capacity  to refine human emotion. In stanza 9, the skylark is compared to a forlorn maiden, perhaps from some old romantic tale, imprisoned in a tower. The solitary maiden finds solace for her tormented soul through music, similarly the soothing symphony can obliterate the human sufferings.

 

Stanzas 10–12

In stanza 10, the poet continues his striking similitudes with the heavenly bird. In this stanza it is the light from a glow-worm as it nestles in the dew. No one sees it, because it is hidden by flowers and grass. In stanza 11, the comparison is between the skylark and a rose. The rose has lost its leaves due to a warm wind but still gives off a delightful scent. In stanza 12, another comparison is attempted, between the song of the skylark and rain showers that fall on the grass and encourage the flowers to bloom. But in the last two lines of this stanza, the poet admits that nothing in the world is superior to the song of the skylark.

 

Stanzas 13–15

 

Stanza 13 begins a new section of the poem, in which the poet addresses the bird directly, asking it to teach humans about the thoughts it has that produce such a happy song, he says that he has never heard such an intoxicating love song emerged from this bird. In stanza 14, the poet says that even a wedding song or some other celebratory music would lack something if they were to be compared to the skylark’s song. Stanza 15 consists of a series of rhetorical questions. A rhetorical question is one to which the speaker does not expect an answer, or which cannot be answered. In this case, the questions are about the causes of the joyous of the bird. What makes it sing so beautifully? Is it some stimulus the bird receives from land or sea or sky? Does it sing because of love for some other creature like itself, or simply because it knows no pain or suffering?

 

Stanzas 16–18

Stanza 16 meditates on the nature of the bird that produces such melodious strains. The poet states that this tiny creature cannot experience exhaustion or lack of energy; nor can it be troubled by anything. The bird knows the joy of love but has never experienced its sadness. In stanza 17, this thought is extended. Whether the bird is awake or asleep, it experiences a greater depth of truth than mortal man can even dream of. If this were not so, the poet asks, how could the skylark sing so beautifully? Stanza 18 contrasts the reality of the bird with the reality of humans. Humans think about the past and the future and want things to be different from how they are. Humans also live in a world that contains opposing emotions; they experience sorrow as well as joy. In the final line of this stanza the poet states that every beautiful songs indeed, inspired from sadness.

 

Stanzas 19–21

In stanza 19, the poet imagines the activation of human potential. But even if people could learn to get beyond their negative emotions, or if human nature were somehow different and did not have the capacity to experience emotional pain, even then, humans would still not be able to experience the same level of joy that the skylark does. In stanza 20, the poet states that the song of the bird is the best of all music, and also superior to all the poetry that has been published in books. In the final stanza, the poet addresses the skylark directly, asking it to teach him even half of the joy it embodies. If the skylark would do that for him, the poet would be so inspired that he would write great verse that everyone in the world would listen to and understand, just as he is now listening to and grasping meaning from the song of the skylark.