To the Skylark by William Wordsworth

  

                                  To the Skylark by William Wordsworth: A Reading

ETHEREAL minstrel! pilgrim of the sky!
Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound?
Or while the wings aspire, are heart and eye
Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground?
Thy nest which thou canst drop into at will,	5
Those quivering wings composed, that music still!
To the last point of vision, and beyond
Mount, daring warbler!—that love-prompted strain
—’Twixt thee and thine a never-failing bond—
Thrills not the less the bosom of the plain:	10
Yet might’st thou seem, proud privilege! to sing
All independent of the leafy Spring.
Leave to the nightingale her shady wood;
A privacy of glorious light is thine,
Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood	15
Of harmony, with instinct more divine;
Type of the wise, who soar, but never roam—
True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home.

Stanza 1.

                                          ETHEREAL minstrel! pilgrim of the sky!

  The poet begins his ode addressing the bird, skylark by the names of ethereal minstrel and pilgrim of the sky. As we know ethereal minstrel means heavenly singer we wonder why the poet calls the skylark so. Likewise, why the title of pilgrim of the sky? 

                                         Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound?

  Does the skylark  hate sand despise the earth? It is possible that skylark, a songbird that soars high above the sky to sing her song really hates staying here on the earth. Life on earth after all is filled with sufferings and unhappiness. 

                                     

Or while the wings aspire, are heart and eye
Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground?

                                         

  

  Or is it that the skylark does not have any hateful feelings towards earth? It is possible that the skylark loves and remembers the earth where she left her nest. She could be flying high above all the while missing her home down below on earth.

   So it really is a dilemma here. Which one could it be? Hate the earth or Love the earth?

                                     

                                              Thy nest which thou canst drop into at will,

  Hey, it seems more likely that the skylark loves the earth. After all the skylark can fly down to her nest whenever she wishes. Which she does often . 

Those quivering wings composed, that music still!

  When she returns back on earth, her once quivering wings will be composed. Her songs would be gone too. Ok, she needs to stop her wings but why stop the song? Skylarks only sing in the sky. Ethereal minstrel, oh that’s why the poet called the skylark so.

Now try thinking answers to the following questions :

       

1. What titles does the poet give the skylark?
2. Why does the poet call the skylark an ethereal minstrel?
3. Why does the poet call the skylark pilgrim of the sky?
4. What prompted the poet to think that the skylark might despise the earth ?
5. Do you think the skylark despises or loves the earth ?
6. How does skylark come back to earth?