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Two Romantic poems concerning nature are "To Autumn" by John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley's "To a Skylark". These two poems celebrate different aspects of nature:

Two Romantic poems concerning nature are "To Autumn" by John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley's "To a Skylark". These two poems celebrate different aspects of nature:

Navdeep Sahota Saturday, 22 January 2005

English Coursework

‘Compare how nature is presented two Romantic poems’

Poets of the Romantic Era tried to express their feelings of beauty, nature and decay through poems and other means of literature. Two Romantic poems concerning nature are “To Autumn” by John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “To a Skylark”. These two poems celebrate different aspects of nature: as the title of the poem suggests “To Autumn” is about the season of autumn, whereas “To a Skylark” is about a skylark, a miniscule bird that is famous for its song. Percy Bysshe Shelley compares the skylark to many different beautiful things to show that the skylark is far more superior to them.

The vivid use of imagery throughout the two poems attracts the reader's interest and conveys the writers' creativity. Both of the poems are packed with imagery which not only shows their uniqueness but also the intensity and sophistication of the poets. The first stanza in “To Autumn” concerns itself with extolling the beauty and floridity of autumn, appealing to the senses of sight and taste. The first line immediately arouses visual senses with “mists and mellow fruitfulness”. Keats uses “mellow” to depict the colour of autumn, this is most likely to be the rustic colour of ripe fruits and leaves. The purpose of “fruitfulness” reminds us of the harvest. The reason that Keats chose “mists” is to remind us that we have more than just the sense of sight. If something is misty it is unclear and perhaps we have to rely on other senses more. Taste is also displayed in the first stanza; Keats refers to the “sweet kernels” and fruit with “ripeness to the core”. Keats uses personification in the second line of the first stanza by referring to autumn as being a “Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless” This conveys the image of autumn working together with the sun to ripen all fruits. The “maturing sun” is surely the season of summer. Keats is very clever with the usage of “maturing”. He could have just as easily decided to replace it with the adjective “old” but instead chose “maturing”; this is more of a light-hearted adjective and keeps the happy mood of the stanza. There is also a general feeling of abundance in this stanza, particularly revealed with the line, “To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees”. This is a clear form of imagery where the trees are swooping down because there are so many apples on the branches. Keats uses alliteration and onamatopoeia, in the second stanza especially. We see the effects of both in “the winnowing wind”. The alliteration highlights the wind so it is distinguishing in the readers’ minds and the onomatopoeia has the effect of evoking the sense of sound. The clear indication here is that to fully appreciate the gifts and unique, sensuous experience autumn brings; it is not something merely to observe. The second stanza is all about resting. There is a relaxed atmosphere and this is underlined with the quotation, “Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers”. “Drowsed” and “swath” both include long, slow vowels, which serve to slow the rhythm and pace of the poem and force the reader to dwell on each word, lingering on the poem as the unseen characters linger at their work. “Twined flowers” creates the image of a slow area where there is little movement and everything is almost standing still. Throughout the second stanza time moves slowly.

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“To a Skylark” has a somewhat supernatural atmosphere throughout the poem and the diction used aids this eerie ambience. The first line of the poem is “Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!” and we can instantly see the supernatural characteristic of the poem. The speaker, addressing a skylark, says that it is a "blithe Spirit" rather than a bird, for its song comes from Heaven, and from its full heart pour "profuse strains of unpremeditated art." The skylark flies higher and higher, "like a cloud of fire" in the blue sky, singing as it flies. Shelley manipulates imagery well to show the ...

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The seventh stanza also shows particularly how spontaneous and free the skylark is of all cares, “like a Poet hidden In the light of thought, singing hymns unbidden”. Shelley is likening the spontaneous flow of the skylark to his own creative flow that is to a certain extent spontaneous and is probably the closest he himself will get to the freeness of the skylark. Percy Shelley is in awe of the skylark and it is clearly visible at the beginning of the poem. The speaker says that no one knows what the skylark is, for it is unique: even "rainbow clouds" do not rain as brightly as the shower of melody that pours from the skylark. However, as we read on it is clear that the poet would like to experience the feelings of the skylark also. He feels that the song is the way the skylark express his joy. This in turn initiates a series of questions the speaker asks the skylark: What objects are "the fountains of thy happy strain?" Is it fields, waves, mountains, the sky, the plain, or "love of thine own kind" or "ignorance or pain?” He is asking the skylark the reasons for it being able to produce such a happy melody. Shelley wonders whether the secret to the skylark’s joyous song is its “ignorance of pain”. He goes on to say that pain "never came near”. Shelley then says that the skylark is happy because it “ne’er knew love’s sad satiety”. He thinks that the skylark can’t have experienced the satisfaction of love; love can be joyful but love can also cause sadness.

The different way in which the two poems are divided into stanzas creates quite different results. John Keats divides “To Autumn” into three stanzas of eleven lines each. The changes of stanzas indicate the different stages of autumn and emphasise the progression of time. “To a Skylark” has a unique form of stanza, with four compact lines and one very long line. Structurally, each stanza tends to make a single, quick point about the skylark, or to look at it in a sudden, brief new light. The reason the poem contains so many stanzas clearly indicates the admiration that Shelley has for the bird. He compares the skylark many a time but still he cannot think of a match for its greatness. “To a Skylark” has a consistent rhyme scheme to let the poem flow evenly. The poem does flow, and gradually advances the mini-narrative of the speaker watching the skylark flying higher and higher into the sky, and envying its untrammelled inspiration. John Keats’ rhyme scheme in the first stanza of “To Autumn” differs from the subsequent verses. The effect is to set the abundance displayed in the first stanza apart from the gradual passing of autumn.

The poem is grounded in the real world; the vivid, concrete imagery immerses the reader in the sights, feel, and sounds of autumn and its progression. With its depiction of the progression of autumn, the poem is an unqualified celebration of process. Keats totally accepts the natural world, with its mixture of ripening, fulfilment, dying, and death. Shelley however does bring fantasy into “To a Skylark” and the poem is told in a first-person narrative. The result is surprising by may be seen as controversial by some. He asks the skylark questions directly but then he answers them himself so is in turn asking rhetorical questions of which he reflects on and reaches conclusions to.

In terms of the way nature is presented, “To Autumn” is more tangible since we can identify with most of the images presented whereas “To a Skylark” is based on opinion and the personal feelings and emotions of Percy Bysshe Shelley. John Keats used imagery to depict the different aspects of autumn but Shelley uses imagery to create a mystical environment. The poems have different sounds: “To a Skylark” is a poem of many questions and “To Autumn” has a number of words being emphasised to create a long period of time and giving a general feeling of abundance. The Romanticists wanted to express their opinions of beauty, nature and decay and certainly John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley have conveyed them strongly and use poetry to admirable effect; they have certainly been heard by the world.