Articles and Commentaries by Aden Lee, Skylark Press Studio Shelley's Skylark | Page 3

skylark’s joy, Shelley shall gain the ability to enthrall the
world, thereby allowing him to emulate the skylark which
captivated him.
In this article, I will be focusing and commenting on four
stanzas in the poem which are prominent for their technical
excellence and their memorable characterization of the
skylark. We begin with the first stanza:
1
Hail to thee, blithe spirit!
Bird thou never wert—
That from heaven or near it
Pourest thy full heart
In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.

Diction
At the outset, Shelley uses elevated diction to exalt the
skylark as an embodiment of divine, artistic perfection.
Shelley opens the poem with “Hail”, a formal salutation, to
acknowledge the skylark’s majestic status and to convey his
admiration and adoration for the bird. Shelley swiftly
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