Percy Bysshe Shelley, To a Skylark

Mark Sandy (University of Durham)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University), Emily Rohrbach (University of Durham)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1820

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

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Inspired by a summer evening's stroll through country lanes hedged by myrtle, “To a Skylark” recalls the sights and sounds witnessed by Percy and Mary Shelley of the emerging fireflies and melodious skylark's song. Shelley's “To a Skylark” was completed near Leghorn by late June 1820 and, like “The Cloud”, posted to England for inclusion in the

Prometheus Unbound

volume.

Shelley's evocation of the skylark's enchanting “voice” (27) celebrates the ingenious struggle of a poet to represent what is incomprehensible:

Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! Bird thou never wert, That from Heaven, or near it, Pourest thy full heart

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807 words

Citation: Sandy, Mark. "To a Skylark". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 March 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7305, accessed 26 November 2024.]

Percy Bysshe Shelley, To a Skylark

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