Introduction: “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
“To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, first appeared in 1820, as part of his collection Prometheus Unbound, is celebrated for its lyrical beauty and rich imagery, drawing upon nature and the ethereal qualities of the skylark to explore themes of joy, transcendence, and the limitations of human experience. Shelley’s skylark becomes a symbol of pure, unbridled happiness, untainted by human sorrow or suffering. Through vivid descriptions of the bird’s soaring flight and melodious song, the poem contrasts the skylark’s boundless freedom with the earthly struggles of humankind, revealing Shelley’s desire for a higher, idealized state of existence. The poem is known for its musicality, employing a delicate interplay of rhythm and rhyme that mirrors the skylark’s enchanting song.
Text: “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
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.
Higher still and higher
From the earth thou springest
Like a cloud of fire;
The blue deep thou wingest,
And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest.
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 pale purple even
Melts around thy flight;
Like a star of Heaven,
In the broad day-light
Thou art unseen, but yet I hear thy shrill delight,
Keen as are the arrows
Of that silver sphere,
Whose intense lamp narrows
In the white dawn clear
Until we hardly see, we feel that it is there.
All the earth and air
With thy voice is loud,
As, when night is bare,
From one lonely cloud
The moon rains out her beams, and Heaven is overflow’d.
What thou art we know not;
What is most like thee?
From rainbow clouds there flow not
Drops so bright to see
As from thy presence showers a rain of melody.
Like a Poet hidden
In the light of thought,
Singing hymns unbidden,
Till the world is wrought
To sympathy with hopes and fears it heeded not:
Like a high-born maiden
In a palace-tower,
Soothing her love-laden
Soul in secret hour
With music sweet as love, which overflows her bower:
Like a glow-worm golden
In a dell of dew,
Scattering unbeholden
Its aëreal hue
Among the flowers and grass, which screen it from the view:
Like a rose embower’d
In its own green leaves,
By warm winds deflower’d,
Till the scent it gives
Makes faint with too much sweet those heavy-winged thieves:
Sound of vernal showers
On the twinkling grass,
Rain-awaken’d flowers,
All that ever was
Joyous, and clear, and fresh, thy music doth surpass.
Teach us, Sprite or Bird,
What sweet thoughts are thine:
I have never heard
Praise of love or wine
That panted forth a flood of rapture so divine.
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.
What objects are the fountains
Of thy happy strain?
What fields, or waves, or mountains?
What shapes of sky or plain?
What love of thine own kind? what ignorance of pain?
With thy clear keen joyance
Languor cannot be:
Shadow of annoyance
Never came near thee:
Thou lovest: but ne’er knew love’s sad satiety.
Waking or asleep,
Thou of death must deem
Things more true and deep
Than we mortals dream,
Or how could thy notes flow in such a crystal stream?
We look before and after,
And pine for what is not:
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught;
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.
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.
Better than all measures
Of delightful sound,
Better than all treasures
That in books are found,
Thy skill to poet were, thou scorner of the ground!
Teach me half the gladness
That thy brain must know,
Such harmonious madness
From my lips would flow
The world should listen then, as I am listening now.
Annotations: “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
| Stanza | Devices | Annotations |
| 1 | Apostrophe (addressing the skylark), Alliteration (“blithe Spirit”), Personification (“Pourest thy full heart”) | Shelley directly addresses the skylark, treating it as a mystical entity rather than a mere bird. The alliteration in “blithe Spirit” emphasizes the joyous nature of the bird, while “unpremeditated art” suggests the skylark’s song is spontaneous and natural. |
| 2 | Simile (“Like a cloud of fire”), Anaphora (“singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest”) | The simile compares the skylark to a fiery cloud, symbolizing its ethereal and boundless movement. The repetition (“soar” and “sing”) mirrors the bird’s perpetual flight and song, enhancing the sense of freedom and joy. |
| 3 | Imagery (“golden lightning of the sunken sun”), Metaphor (“Like an unbodied joy”) | Vivid imagery evokes a sunset and glowing clouds, creating a luminous atmosphere. The metaphor compares the skylark to “unbodied joy,” suggesting it is a disembodied embodiment of pure happiness. |
| 4 | Simile (“Like a star of Heaven”), Contrast (“unseen, but yet I hear thy shrill delight”) | The skylark is compared to a star in daylight, reinforcing its invisibility yet omnipresence. The contrast between visibility and audibility emphasizes the bird’s transcendence beyond the physical realm. |
| 5 | Metaphor (“Keen as are the arrows of that silver sphere”), Personification (“intense lamp narrows”) | The skylark’s song is likened to “arrows” from the moon, intensifying the image of sharpness and piercing quality of the sound. The “intense lamp” personifies the moon, adding to the celestial imagery. |
| 6 | Simile (“As, when night is bare”), Personification (“moon rains out her beams”) | The skylark’s voice fills the air like moonlight on a bare night, with personification of the moon “raining” beams adding to the mysticism of the scene. |
| 7 | Rhetorical Question (“What thou art we know not; What is most like thee?”), Simile (“Drops so bright to see as from thy presence showers a rain of melody”) | Shelley’s rhetorical questioning reflects the awe at the skylark’s mystery, while the simile likens the bird’s song to radiant raindrops, emphasizing the beauty of its melody. |
| 8 | Metaphor (“Like a Poet hidden in the light of thought”), Personification (“Singing hymns unbidden”) | The skylark is metaphorically compared to a hidden poet, suggesting that both express unprompted, spontaneous beauty. The idea of “hymns unbidden” reinforces the effortless creativity of the skylark. |
| 9 | Simile (“Like a high-born maiden”), Personification (“love-laden soul”) | The skylark is likened to a secluded maiden singing in solitude. This extends the metaphor of hidden beauty, suggesting inner emotions manifest through artistic expression. |
| 10 | Simile (“Like a glow-worm golden”), Imagery (“aëreal hue among the flowers and grass”) | The skylark is compared to a glow-worm, hidden but emitting light. This emphasizes the skylark’s simultaneous invisibility and presence through its song. |
| 11 | Simile (“Like a rose embower’d in its own green leaves”), Personification (“warm winds deflower’d”) | The skylark is compared to a rose surrounded by leaves, with winds personified as thieves that “deflower” the rose, symbolizing loss but also the release of sweetness. |
| 12 | Imagery (“Sound of vernal showers on the twinkling grass”), Hyperbole (“All that ever was joyous, and clear, and fresh”) | Nature imagery contrasts the skylark’s song to other natural sounds, heightening the hyperbolic claim that the bird’s music surpasses all other joy and freshness. |
| 13 | Rhetorical Question (“Teach us, Sprite or Bird, What sweet thoughts are thine?”), Apostrophe (addressing the skylark directly) | The poet seeks insight into the source of the skylark’s joy, with direct address (“Sprite or Bird”) adding to the mystical quality of the creature. |
| 14 | Contrast (“empty vaunt” vs. “rapture so divine”), Alliteration (“Chorus Hymeneal, Or triumphal chant”) | The skylark’s music is contrasted with earthly music, which is described as empty and lacking. The alliteration in “Chorus Hymeneal” and “triumphal chant” enhances the rhythmic quality. |
| 15 | Rhetorical Questions (“What objects are the fountains of thy happy strain?”), Imagery (“fields, or waves, or mountains”) | The poet wonders about the inspiration for the skylark’s song, using nature imagery to speculate on the possible sources of the bird’s joy. |
| 16 | Contrast (“clear keen joyance” vs. “Languor”), Personification (“Shadow of annoyance”) | The skylark’s joyful nature is contrasted with human emotions like languor, with “shadow of annoyance” personifying human frustration as something the skylark has never encountered. |
| 17 | Metaphor (“Thou of death must deem Things more true and deep”), Contrast (“we mortals dream”) | Shelley metaphorically elevates the skylark’s understanding of death, contrasting its wisdom with the limited understanding of mortals. |
| 18 | Antithesis (“We look before and after, and pine for what is not”), Oxymoron (“Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought”) | The antithesis between past and future emphasizes human yearning, while the oxymoron highlights the paradox of joy and sadness coexisting in human art. |
| 19 | Hypothetical Question (“Yet if we could scorn hate, and pride, and fear”), Repetition (“If we were things born not to shed a tear”) | Shelley contemplates whether humans could ever experience the skylark’s joy if they abandoned negative emotions. Repetition reinforces this conditional thought. |
| 20 | Metaphor (“Better than all measures of delightful sound”), Apostrophe (addressing the skylark as “thou scorner of the ground!”) | The skylark’s song is elevated above all earthly treasures, with direct address emphasizing the skylark’s transcendence over worldly concerns. |
| 21 | Hyperbole (“Teach me half the gladness”), Imagery (“Such harmonious madness”) | Shelley hyperbolically asks to be taught just “half” of the skylark’s joy, describing this joy as “harmonious madness” to emphasize its overwhelming and ecstatic nature. |
Literary And Poetic Devices: “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
| Device | Example | Explanation |
| Allusion | “Chorus Hymeneal” (Stanza 14) | Reference to a marriage hymn (Hymen), implying the skylark’s song is as divine as a sacred hymn, linking it to concepts of celebration and union. |
| Anaphora | “singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest” (Stanza 2) | Repetition of “sing” and “soar” enhances the sense of continuity and the bird’s perpetual movement and song. |
| Apostrophe | “Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!” (Stanza 1) | Direct address to the skylark, treating it as an otherworldly being and giving the poem a personal, conversational tone. |
| Assonance | “thou springest Like a cloud of fire” (Stanza 2) | The repetition of the vowel sound “i” in “springest” and “fire” creates a musical quality, mimicking the skylark’s harmonious song. |
| Consonance | “In profuse strains of unpremeditated art” (Stanza 1) | Repetition of the “s” sound in “strains” and “art” produces a soft, flowing effect, paralleling the bird’s free-flowing song. |
| Contrast | “unseen, but yet I hear thy shrill delight” (Stanza 4) | Contrasts between what is seen and heard emphasize the skylark’s ethereal nature, suggesting its existence transcends the physical realm. |
| Enjambment | “In the golden lightning / Of the sunken sun” (Stanza 3) | The sentence flows over two lines without a pause, mirroring the skylark’s uninterrupted song and flight. |
| Hyperbole | “All that ever was / Joyous, and clear, and fresh, thy music doth surpass.” (Stanza 12) | Exaggeration to emphasize the skylark’s song as more joyful and fresh than any sound in nature, highlighting its extraordinary quality. |
| Imagery | “Like a glow-worm golden / In a dell of dew” (Stanza 10) | Vivid description of the skylark as a glow-worm, creating a visual image of something small and hidden yet radiant, much like the bird’s song. |
| Metaphor | “Like a Poet hidden in the light of thought” (Stanza 8) | Compares the skylark to a hidden poet, suggesting both produce beautiful, spontaneous creations that come from within. |
| Onomatopoeia | “shrill delight” (Stanza 4) | The word “shrill” imitates the high-pitched, piercing sound of the skylark’s song, creating an auditory effect. |
| Oxymoron | “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought” (Stanza 18) | The contradictory terms “sweetest” and “saddest” highlight the paradox of human experience, where joy and sadness are often intertwined. |
| Paradox | “We look before and after, And pine for what is not” (Stanza 18) | The human condition is presented as paradoxical, always longing for something unattainable, unlike the skylark’s pure joy. |
| Personification | “The moon rains out her beams” (Stanza 6) | The moon is given human attributes, “raining” beams, adding to the celestial, mystical tone of the poem and emphasizing nature’s beauty. |
| Repetition | “soar, and soaring ever singest” (Stanza 2) | Repeated use of the words “soar” and “sing” to emphasize the skylark’s continuous and boundless energy in both flight and song. |
| Rhetorical Question | “What thou art we know not; What is most like thee?” (Stanza 7) | Questions that are not meant to be answered but express the speaker’s wonder and awe at the mysterious nature of the skylark. |
| Simile | “Like a cloud of fire” (Stanza 2) | The skylark is compared to a fiery cloud, symbolizing its lightness, energy, and otherworldly presence as it ascends higher and higher. |
| Symbolism | The Skylark | The skylark symbolizes pure joy, spiritual transcendence, and unbridled freedom, contrasting with the limitations of human existence. |
| Synecdoche | “Pourest thy full heart” (Stanza 1) | The “heart” is used to represent the entire skylark, emphasizing that its song comes from the depth of its being, symbolizing complete emotional expression. |
Themes: “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
1. Transcendence and Spirituality
In “To a Skylark,” Shelley explores the theme of transcendence, elevating the skylark as a symbol of spiritual freedom and purity, far removed from the limitations of earthly existence. The skylark’s song, described as “an unbodied joy whose race is just begun” (line 15), suggests a timeless, ethereal quality, as if the bird’s song is an expression of divine or spiritual experience beyond human comprehension. Shelley’s skylark exists in a realm of pure spirit, untainted by the sorrows and pains of the world, emphasizing the theme of transcendence as a state that humans can only aspire to but never fully achieve.
2. Joy and the Contrast with Human Suffering
Shelley contrasts the unalloyed joy of the skylark with the pervasive sorrow that defines human existence. While the skylark sings “unpremeditated art” (line 5), humans are burdened by “a flood of rapture so divine” (line 34) that remains unattainable. The bird’s joy is spontaneous and eternal, while human happiness is fleeting and often intertwined with pain and suffering. Shelley uses this contrast to underscore the skylark’s otherworldly nature, setting it apart from human struggles, as the bird’s song embodies a state of pure happiness that humans can only imagine but never experience fully.
3. Nature and Inspiration
Nature serves as a powerful source of inspiration in Shelley’s poem, with the skylark epitomizing the beauty and creativity found in the natural world. The bird’s flight and song inspire the poet, who yearns to capture its “harmonious madness” (line 102) in his own work. Shelley presents nature as an ideal to be emulated, where the skylark, free from earthly concerns, represents the pinnacle of artistic and creative expression. The skylark’s song, “like a poet hidden / In the light of thought” (lines 36-37), connects nature to the imaginative process, inspiring Shelley to reach beyond human limitations in search of creative purity.
4. The Limitations of Human Knowledge
Another prominent theme in “To a Skylark” is the idea that human knowledge and understanding are limited compared to the boundless wisdom of the natural world. Shelley laments that “We look before and after, / And pine for what is not” (lines 86-87), suggesting that humans are trapped in a cycle of regret and longing, incapable of grasping the fullness of the present moment. The skylark, on the other hand, exists outside of this temporal confinement, experiencing life in an immediate, unfiltered way. Through the skylark, Shelley reflects on the limitations of human perception, yearning for the bird’s intuitive, almost divine, insight into existence.
Literary Theories and “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
| Literary Theory | Application to “To a Skylark” | References from the Poem |
| Romanticism | “To a Skylark” embodies Romantic ideals by focusing on nature, emotion, and the sublime. Shelley elevates the skylark as a symbol of pure joy and natural beauty, representing an idealized state of being beyond human reach. Romanticism emphasizes the importance of nature, personal emotion, and the individual’s connection to the natural world. | – “Pourest thy full heart in profuse strains of unpremeditated art” (Stanza 1) emphasizes the skylark’s natural, spontaneous creativity. – “We look before and after, And pine for what is not” (Stanza 18) reflects the Romantic preoccupation with yearning and the human inability to attain the bird’s joyous state. |
| Transcendentalism | Shelley’s portrayal of the skylark as a spiritual being aligns with Transcendentalist ideals, which suggest that nature and intuition transcend the physical world. The skylark’s song symbolizes a higher, spiritual truth that humanity cannot fully understand. Shelley suggests that the skylark exists in a realm of pure joy, untainted by human suffering. | – “What thou art we know not; What is most like thee?” (Stanza 7) reflects humanity’s limited understanding of the bird’s transcendent nature. – “Teach me half the gladness That thy brain must know” (Stanza 21) highlights the poet’s desire to access the skylark’s superior, transcendent knowledge. |
| Ecocriticism | This theory examines the relationship between literature and the natural world. In “To a Skylark,” Shelley idealizes nature, presenting the skylark as an emblem of harmony and joy. The poem invites readers to consider the interconnectedness of humans and nature, but also reveals humanity’s alienation from the natural purity represented by the skylark. | – “All the earth and air With thy voice is loud” (Stanza 6) portrays the skylark as a part of the natural world’s soundscape, symbolizing the integration of natural elements. – “Thou of death must deem Things more true and deep Than we mortals dream” (Stanza 17) reflects the skylark’s deeper connection with nature and the cycles of life, contrasting with humanity’s limited perspective. |
Critical Questions about “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
- How does Shelley use the skylark as a symbol of unattainable joy and spiritual transcendence?
- Shelley presents the skylark as a symbol of an idealized, unattainable joy that transcends human experience. Throughout the poem, the skylark soars “Higher still and higher” (Stanza 2), reflecting its separation from earthly concerns. Shelley emphasizes the bird’s perpetual joy, contrasting it with human limitations: “We look before and after, And pine for what is not” (Stanza 18). This line highlights humanity’s inability to achieve the pure, untroubled happiness that the skylark represents. The skylark’s song, which flows in “profuse strains of unpremeditated art” (Stanza 1), suggests an effortless and divine connection to a higher, spiritual realm. The bird becomes a metaphor for transcendence, offering a glimpse into an existence free from sorrow, doubt, and mortality.
- What role does nature play in shaping the emotional landscape of the poem?
- In “To a Skylark,” Shelley uses nature to evoke a powerful emotional response and explore themes of joy, beauty, and mystery. The skylark is portrayed as an integral part of the natural world, but its song transcends the physical realm, becoming a symbol of pure emotion. The bird is likened to various natural elements, such as “a cloud of fire” (Stanza 2) and a “glow-worm golden” (Stanza 10), emphasizing its ethereal presence within the natural world. The poem’s vivid imagery, such as “In the golden lightning of the sunken sun” (Stanza 3), paints the skylark’s environment as radiant and filled with light, mirroring the bird’s joyous song. Shelley’s nature imagery is not only descriptive but also emotional, as he contrasts the skylark’s unbounded happiness with humanity’s struggle to find such fulfillment.
- How does Shelley explore the contrast between human limitations and the skylark’s freedom?
- Shelley highlights the skylark’s boundless freedom, both in flight and song, as a foil to human limitations. The bird’s unrestrained movement, “soaring ever singest” (Stanza 2), is contrasted with humanity’s confinement to earthly concerns and emotions. Humans, unlike the skylark, are burdened with “Hate, and pride, and fear” (Stanza 19), emotions that prevent them from experiencing the skylark’s untainted joy. Shelley reflects on the human condition with lines such as “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought” (Stanza 18), emphasizing how human joy is often mingled with sorrow. The skylark, in contrast, is free from such dualities, existing in a state of pure, untroubled ecstasy. This contrast underscores the poem’s meditation on the limitations of human experience.
- What is the significance of music in the poem, and how does it relate to creative expression?
- In “To a Skylark,” music is central to the poem’s exploration of creativity and inspiration. The skylark’s song, described as “a rain of melody” (Stanza 7), symbolizes spontaneous, divine creativity that flows without effort or premeditation. Shelley likens the skylark to a “Poet hidden in the light of thought” (Stanza 8), suggesting that the bird’s song is analogous to a poet’s creative process, where inspiration arises from a place beyond conscious control. This connection between music and creativity is reinforced when Shelley expresses his desire to learn from the skylark: “Teach me half the gladness / That thy brain must know” (Stanza 21). The skylark’s song, free from the restraints of human emotion and intellect, becomes a metaphor for the ideal artistic expression—one that is instinctual, boundless, and filled with joy.
Literary Works Similar to “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
- “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats
Both poems celebrate a bird as a symbol of transcendence, exploring themes of beauty, mortality, and the contrast between human suffering and the bird’s carefree existence. - “The Windhover” by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Like “To a Skylark,” this poem focuses on a bird in flight, using it as a metaphor for divine inspiration, grace, and the beauty of the natural world. - “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe
Though darker in tone, “The Raven” similarly uses a bird as a central symbol, reflecting on themes of grief, the supernatural, and the limits of human understanding. - “The Wild Swans at Coole” by W.B. Yeats
Both poems use birds to evoke a sense of beauty, impermanence, and the contrast between the timelessness of nature and human emotional experience. - “Ode to the West Wind” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Written by Shelley himself, this poem shares themes of nature’s power and inspiration, focusing on the wind’s force as a symbol of creative and transformative energy, much like the skylark’s song.
Representative Quotations of “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
| Quotation | Context | Theoretical Perspective |
| “Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! / Bird thou never wert” (Stanza 1) | The speaker greets the skylark, describing it as a spirit rather than a bird, immediately setting up its otherworldly, transcendent nature. | Romanticism: Emphasizes the skylark as a symbol of transcendent beauty and joy, beyond the material world. |
| “Pourest thy full heart / In profuse strains of unpremeditated art” (Stanza 1) | The skylark’s song is described as spontaneous and natural, suggesting an effortless creativity that contrasts with human artifice. | Transcendentalism: Suggests that the skylark’s song is an embodiment of divine, natural creativity, a source of inspiration for humanity. |
| “Like a cloud of fire; / The blue deep thou wingest” (Stanza 2) | The skylark is compared to a fiery cloud, ascending into the vast blue sky, highlighting its freedom and celestial nature. | Ecocriticism: The skylark is seen as a part of nature’s sublime beauty, drawing attention to its integration into the natural world. |
| “What thou art we know not; / What is most like thee?” (Stanza 7) | The speaker admits the mystery surrounding the skylark, marveling at its ungraspable nature. | Mysticism: Reflects the unknowability of the skylark, emphasizing the spiritual and mystical qualities of nature. |
| “Like a Poet hidden / In the light of thought” (Stanza 8) | The skylark is compared to a poet who creates beauty in secret, suggesting a connection between the bird’s song and poetic creation. | Aestheticism: Highlights the parallels between the skylark’s natural song and human creativity, focusing on beauty for its own sake. |
| “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought” (Stanza 18) | The speaker reflects on the paradox of human art, where joy is often intermingled with sorrow, unlike the pure joy of the skylark. | Romantic Irony: The juxtaposition of joy and sadness in human expression points to the complexities of human emotion in contrast to the skylark’s untainted happiness. |
| “We look before and after, / And pine for what is not” (Stanza 18) | Humanity’s tendency to dwell on the past and future leads to a constant sense of longing and dissatisfaction, unlike the skylark’s present-focused joy. | Existentialism: Suggests human beings are trapped in their consciousness of time and desire, unable to achieve the skylark’s carefree existence. |
| “Teach me half the gladness / That thy brain must know” (Stanza 21) | The speaker yearns to learn even a fraction of the skylark’s joy, recognizing the distance between human and skylark experience. | Romanticism: Emphasizes the idealization of nature as a source of knowledge and emotional fulfillment beyond human reach. |
| “Thou of death must deem / Things more true and deep / Than we mortals dream” (Stanza 17) | The speaker speculates that the skylark’s understanding of death transcends mortal comprehension, suggesting a higher, spiritual wisdom. | Transcendentalism: Suggests that the skylark possesses an understanding of life and death that transcends human knowledge, linking it to the divine. |
| “Better than all measures / Of delightful sound” (Stanza 20) | The speaker claims that the skylark’s song surpasses any human-made music, elevating it above all human art. | Aestheticism: Celebrates the skylark’s song as an ideal form of beauty, unmatched by human creativity, emphasizing nature’s superiority in art. |
Suggested Readings: “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Wilcox, Stewart C. “The Sources, Symbolism, and Unity of Shelley’s ‘Skylark.'” Studies in Philology, vol. 46, no. 4, 1949, pp. 560–76. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4172907. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
- Tillman-Hill, Iris. “Hardy’s Skylark and Shelley’s.” Victorian Poetry, vol. 10, no. 1, 1972, pp. 79–83. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40001615. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
- Parks C. Hunter, Jr. “Undercurrents of Anacreontics in Shelley’s ‘To a Skylark’ and ‘The Cloud.'” Studies in Philology, vol. 65, no. 4, 1968, pp. 677–92. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4173613. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
- Richards, Irving T. “A Note on Source Influences in Shelley’s Cloud and Skylark.” PMLA, vol. 50, no. 2, 1935, pp. 562–67. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/458158. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
- HENDRY, DIANA. “Up with the Lark(s).” Critical Survey, vol. 4, no. 1, 1992, pp. 67–69. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41555625. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
- Farnell, Gary. “Rereading Shelley.” ELH, vol. 60, no. 3, 1993, pp. 625–50. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2873408. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.