Articles and Commentaries by Aden Lee, Skylark Press Studio Shelley's Skylark | Page 12

Beginning stanza 13 is an important phrase: “Teach us”.
Here, Shelley asserts that as an embodiment of nature, the
skylark is not simply a masterful singer but an edifying
pedagogue: a wise teacher who can impart a transcendent
joy to humanity. Here, Shelley yet again acknowledges the
innate divinity of nature by addressing the skylark as a
“Sprite”, or fairy. Moreover, the lengthy alexandrine in
this stanza fuses form and content by enacting the skylark’s
own “flood of rapture”. Form and content are further
harmonized when, in reading the poem aloud, Shelley
makes us literally “pant” alongside the singing skylark as
we struggle to read the alexandrine in one breath (note that
this line lacks punctuation and is meant to be read without
a pause for breath). Note also that there is no punctuation
at the end of this stanza’s fourth line. This means that the
fourth line is enjambed: its meaning and syntax are
continued across a line break. Thus, when read aloud,
there would be little pause between the fourth and fifth
lines, unlike the brief pause caused by the colon which
separates lines 2 and 3. By omitting punctuation in the final
three lines of this stanza, Shelley masterfully simulates the
skylark’s exertion in song by subjecting readers to a similar
exertion when they read his poem aloud.

© Skylark Press Studio 2016

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