The Portrayal of Nature in To a Skylark and To Autumn

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The Portrayal of Nature in To a Skylark and To Autumn

‘To a Skylark’ and ‘To Autumn’ are two poems written by different

Romantic poets. Although both are typical of the Romantic period, they

differ in many ways. They both have different styles. Both poets

elaborate on two different aspects of nature. ‘To a Skylark’, is

written by Percy Bysshe Shelley. It compares the Skylark to many

different things and it describes how the Skylark manages to exceed

all of these things. The poem highlights all of the bird’s qualities.

‘To Autumn’ presents the season as a much warmer autumn than we would

usually imagine it. The poem is written by John Keats. It shows how

autumn is full of fruitfulness and ripeness and how autumn gradually

ends, with winter approaching. It perceives it in a different way to

the way we would normally look at it. Although the two poems are

similar in style, they have divergent characteristics and each looks

at a different area of nature.

‘To a Skylark’ is a tribute to the skylark. It highlights all of the

bird’s qualities. It is comparing the bird to many different things

and shows how the skylark is much better than them all. It shows us

how the bird’s imagination is greater, broader and deeper, than that

of a human’s. It says how we humans always seem to see the bad side of

things and how we are always sad, “Our sweetest songs are those that

tell of saddest thought.” So, even when we are happy, we think of bad

things. However, the skylark is always happy and always looking on the

bright side of things. In addition, it is compared to a glowworm,

showing how the bird has wonderful colours, “Like a glowworm golden.”

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...respect and enthusiasm. They both are beautiful poems,

which convey to the reader the poets’ deep connection with their

subject. However, the mood, style, structure and tempo of each is

different. This is because each suits the poets’ objective in

portraying their subjects as they wish to do so. They are both poems

which inspire the reader and impress on them something of the mood of

the poet. The reader of ‘To the Skylark’ would have an impression of

the bird, but no detail of what it was actually like. The reader of

‘To Autumn’ would have no doubt about the precise characteristics of

autumn. For the reader, this is like comparing an impressionist

painting (‘To the Skylark’) with a landscape painting (‘To Autumn’).

Both can be enjoyed for what they are, even though their approach and

presentation is different.

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