On the Similarities & Differences of Ode to the West Wind，To a Sky—Lark and Ode to a Nightingale

索奇

【Abstract】Percy Bysshe Shelleys Ode to the West Wind， To a Sky-Lark and John Keatss Ode to a Nightingale are three prominent examples of English odes in Romantic period.A large number of scholars have studied the Romantic features shown in Shelleys Ode to the West Wind.However， few of them paid attention to the contrast and comparison with another two odes To a Sky-Lark and Ode to a Nightingale under the theme of birds.This paper aims to analyze three Romantic poems from the perspectives of the beauty of imagery， the charm of musicality， the fantasy of dreams and the harmony between nature and human beings.It is aimed at giving readers a better understanding of the text.

【Key words】Percy Bysshe Shelley； John Keats； ode； nature

I.Introduction

Ode is a kind of lyric poem of some length， usually with grand theme and subject matter.Zhang Jian once defined the ode as something “conventionally exalted in tone， elevated in language， charged with feelings”.The most famous odes in English are probably Percy Bysshe Shelleys Ode to the West Wind and To a Sky-Lark.John Keatss Ode to a Nightingale is also a much celebrated example of this genre.These poems have different stanzaic patterns， but all keep the traditional characteristics of an address： directly invoking the subject of the poem， no matter whether it is wind or a bird or an object.Ode to the West Wind is one of the best revolutionary poems of Shelley.It is not only a political poem but also a very lyrical one， in form or content.According to the poet， when he met the storm， he was deeply moved by this natural force， which he associated with the revolutionary storms of the human world.To a Sky-Lark and Ode to a Nightingale belong to a type of poems that deal directly or indirectly with birds.For the point is simply that “there is sometimes a practical advantage in having a common objective element in poems to be discussed.” Yet perhaps the bird will prove a happier choice than most.The bird is a winged creature， not earthbound as man is.Birds are closely associated with nature， especially in their spontaneous and joyous activity.

A large number of scholars studied the Romantic features shown in the poem.However， few of them paid attention to the contrast and comparison with another two odes under the theme of birds.To a Sky-Lark and Ode to a Nightingale.This paper aims to analyze three Romantic poems from the perspectives of the beauty of imagery， the charm of musicality， the fantasy of dreams and the harmony between nature and human being.

II.The Beauty of Imagery

Imagery consists of two aspects： the conceptual and the perceptual.According to this theory， the former refers to an image created with a figure of speech， while the latter is made without the use of speech.Poets embody their thought in images， words that appeal to the senses.The first task of the poet is to make the reader “feel” the thought.While visual imagery is frequent， poetry may also lead us to imagine that we can touch， smell， or taste a thing.The following lines from Shelleys To a Sky-Lark， for example， appeal to the auditory as well as the visual imagination， “that from Heaven or near it./ Pourest thy full heart.” The verb “pour” arouses two senses.Here the poet uses metaphor and employs synaesthesia， which is sort of like a Chinese anthologized line “大珠小珠落玉盤” in which we can sense the visual and audio images simultaneously.Sometimes visual sense can also be combined with olfactory sense.“Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs” and “with living hues and odors plain and hill”.The first line vividly shows that the unforgettable scent of flower.By way of applying synaesthesia， Keats attempts to make abstract scent concrete.In other word， we can see the image of scent as if it were hanging on the tree.Shelley draws a dynamic picture of spring in which we could not only smell the odor， but also have the ability to visualize it.Then two kinds of relationship among images need to be discussed， namely， “presence Vs absence，” and “dynamic object Vs static scene.” In the following lines “like an unbodied joy whose race is just begun” Shelley employs simile to compare the skylark to “unbodied joy”.It is not difficult to postulate the absence of the bird and the presence of pleasant feelings.The poet hides himself in the light of thought.We can imagine a scene where Keats as a person who has been indulged in the beauty of wonderland feels overshadowed by the light of thought.Contrast could also be made between dynamic object and static scene in poetry.Here we need to take a look at the other two poems.“Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown” and “Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air”.The first line depicts a situation in which gentle wind blows the light of moon.With the verb “driving” in use， readers are able to imagine a dynamic picture in mind.To sum up， an image can be what is heard or what is felt： a sound， a touch， an odour， a taste， and any bodily sensation.“Broadly defined， an image is a word or a sequence of words which refers to any sensory experience.”We have images which give the impression of presence and absence， dynamic objects or static scene.A study of imagery in three Romantic poems will help us understand poets spiritual world.

III.The Charm of Musicality

There is always a kind of harmony between sense and sound.Indeed， we can find a plenty of evidence from the book Understanding Poetry in which the author tries to tell us that “the most obvious feature of poetry is rhythm…In poetry， however， we are characteristically concerned with aural rhythm.” Musicality of poetry therefore cannot be neglected due to its role in expressing feelings or meanings.Scholars often suggest that readers read poems aloud to get a feel for its rhythms.Take， for instance， these lines from Keatss Ode to a Nightingale.“O for a draught of vintage！ That hath been/Cooled a long age in the deep-delved earth.”If one reads aloud， preferably several times， the variety and range will be obvious.Alliteration of the second line enhances the rhythm.This is even more obvious if we set these lines in contrast to another line.“Away！ Away！ For I will fly to thee.” Here repetition of the word “Away” is used to render an image of poets flying to us.The poet acted as a chaser or a follower of the bird so as to arrive in a wonderland where he could seek the secret of immortality and the truth of happiness.Moreover， onomatopoeia， as another way to achieve auditory effect， also needs to be studied.Here are two examples from Ode to a Nightingale.“The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves/Forlorn！ the very word is like a bell” With /m/ and /s/ sounds， the word “murmurous” leaves us a sense of flying and haunting.And in the second line， an interesting adjective “Forlorn” attracts our attention.It literally means lonely and unhappy.But when we take sense and sound into consideration， the sound of “Forlorn” resembles the voice of bell.Keats tactfully combines the meaning with the sound.Shelley， as we have mentioned in former part， is also a master of words.Plenty of evidence can be found to prove his ability to integrate sense with sound.Here is a line from To a Sky-Lark， “Higher still higher/ From the earth thou springest…” By repeating the sound of /?（r）/， a vivid image of a flying skylark is shown to us all.The opening stanza of Shelleys masterpiece Ode to the West Wind is another case in point.“O wild West Wind， thou breath of Autumn's being.” With a series of /w/ sounds used in “O wild West Wind”， coldness could be felt as if we stand on a waste land hearing the roar of the wild wind.The musicality of a poem is of great importance for poets to convey meanings and for readers to decode information hidden between lines.Both Shelley and Keats are like musicians who can compose lyric and make the sound of poem beautiful.

IV.The Fantasy of Dreams

It is true that dream is a subject that has been discussed many times in literature.In China， Li Bais A Visit to Sky-Mother Mountain in a Dream《夢游天姥吟留别》 serves as a good example.Poetic Genius， or we may say诗仙 in Chinese， claimed， “I move， my soul goes flying.I wake with a long sigh.My pillow and my matting are the lost clouds I was in.And it is the way it always is with human joy.” （忽魂悸以魄动，恍惊起而长嗟。惟觉时之枕席，失向来之烟霞） These lines bear much resemblance with three English odes.In the beginning， a sense of intoxication in dreams can be easily found in John Keatss Nightingale.“Was it a vision， or a waking dream？ Fled is that music.—Do I wake or sleep？” This final question asked by the poet leaves much for our readers to postulate the meaning of life.It is because that the span of life is short， our human beings therefore ought to seize the day and cherish every happy moment.As my supervisor， Professor Ning Yizhong， mentioned in his book， “life is long-term pessimism and short-term optimism”.So we may conclude that to be indulged in a dream is an indispensable way to escape from the earthly dust.The poet possesses an optimistic outlook toward future.John Keatss theory of “Negative Capability” is also worthy of being discussed.That is when man is capable of being in uncertainties.The sense of Beauty overcomes every other consideration， or rather obliterates all consideration.So dreams， no matter how abstract they are， serve as a significant element of getting into a state named ecstasy.Contrasted with John Keats who encourages people to be indulged in a dream， Shelley endeavors to lead the downtrodden to get away from the nightmare.The most anthologized line， “If Winter comes， can Spring be far behind？” best illustrates poets outlook.In this sense， hope can be regarded as a new dream， the dream of wonderful future.Much similar to Keatss description of dream in Ode to a Nightingale is Shelleys another masterpiece， Ode to a Sky-Lark.“Waking or asleep， Thou of death must deem/Things more true and deep， Than we mortals dream，” Human beings catharsis is generated from these lines in which the poet who tends to deify the skylark in the opening stanzas finally finds a way to go beyond “mortal dreams”.By treating the bird as a teacher who may “Teach me half the gladness/That thy brain must know….Shelley as a dreamer again reaches a state of ecstasy.This kind of feeling is sort of like living in wonderland.Having finished comparing three odes， we have seen a dream develops， in one way or another， as the basic background， or a state of mind， of odes.To understand the importance of dreams here we may try the experiment of forgetting the actual situation in which poets stand.Dream serves as a vehicle through which ordinary people can communicate with the holy spirits.

V.The Harmony between Nature and Human Beings

When it comes to the relationship between nature and human beings， there are some notable similarities and differences between Shelley and Keats odes.Both Shelley and Keats describe the suffering of human beings and express their strong will to “learn” from nature.Small as the nightingale and skylark are， they possess such qualities as truthfulness， kindness and beauty.The same can be said of west wind， which is served as both a destroyer and preserver.These three representatives of nature set a good example for human beings.To some extent， they are like teachers.So the ties between nightingale， skylark， west wind and human beings can be analyzed as a “teacher—student” relationship.Take， Ode to a Nightingale， for instance.“The weariness， the fever and the fret/Here， where men sit and hear each other groan.” Keatss vivid depiction of the peoples physical suffering could be regarded as a rebel against the short span of human beings and his conflicting spiritual world.In one letter he wrote to Fanny Brawne， one sentence best reveals this feeling， “the world is full of misery and heartbreak， pain， sickness and oppression.” The short span of human life and the futile efforts to escape death cause him to admire the nightingale， the immortal bird.“Thou wast not born for death， immortal bird！” It is understandable that Keats， like many other listeners， was deeply affected by the distinctive beauty and power of the nightingale's voice.Keats believed in beauty and truth.In this poem， he regards the nightingale as his teacher who can teach him the secret of immortality.Thisrelationship can also be found in Shelleys To a Sky-Lark.Here are some lines taken from this poem.“Teach us， Sprite or Bird， What sweet thoughts are thine.” Human beings are full of “saddest thought” while skylark is joyful and immortal.When communicating with the skylark， the poet is explicitly portrayed as a modest student who prays for the teaching of the bird.In Ode to the West Wind， the poet finds that the reality of life is painful like “the thorns of life” and he hopes to be salvaged from agony and to rebirth after being awakened by “tameless， and swift， and proud” west wind.“If I were a dead leaf thou mightiest bear/If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee.”In this part， the poet expresses his keenly felt feelings and awakened thoughts towards west wind.He mingles himself with the west wind， which is the union of individual with nature.In this sense， west wind acts as a teacher who gives human beings the passion of idealism， the aspiration and creativity.In a word， teacher to student is what nature to human beings.In terms of the solution to the problems in reality， two poets are different in a certain way.Shelley， as a revolutionary figure， tends to be optimistic towards future while Keats， suffering from illness since childhood， reveals a sense of pessimism， which serves the contrast between Escapism and Optimism.“Away！ Away！ for I will fly to thee，” Keats had a strong desire to get away from his sorrows with the help of good wine.But in fact， he was quite clear that no matter how much he could drink it didnt work.The poet could only escape from the burdens of life for a moment.To live a happy life and sing freely like the bird was a luxury he could never afford.So he chose a way of “easeful death”.When we read Keatss poems， we become him.We empathize not merely with his sentiments but with the whole man.By contrast， Shelley represents Optimism and his poem， Ode to the West Wind is a case in point.To him nature exists as an unseen life of the universe and his love of nature is almost boundless.His love is not limited to mankind， but extends to every living creature.Wind， bird and seas are not only personified but also spiritualized.Shelley holds passionate communication with the universe.He becomes one with the skylark and with the west wind.This passionate love of nature is an expression of the poets eagerness for something free from real life.In a word， Escapism and Optimism serve as two solutions to the problems of the reality.Keats and Shelley provide us with an answer respectively.

Ⅵ.Conclusion

Shelley and Keats are skilled in vivid description of the nature scenery.First of all， both of them employ various figures of speech such as simile， metaphor， personification and synaesthesia to present us images of nightingale， skylark or west wind in nature.Images of these odes give readers the impression of presence and absence， dynamic objects and static scene.Secondly， Shelley and Keats are like musicians who can compose lyric and make the sound of poem beautiful.Only by participating in the rhythm both mentally and physically can we appreciate the charm of musicality of these odes.Moreover， dream serves as a vehicle through which ordinary people can communicate with the holy spirits in these three odes.Last but not the least， this paper discusses the harmonious relationship between nature and human beings.By comparison and contrast， it could be concluded that teacher to student is what nature to human beings and that Keatss Escapism is contrasted with Shelleys Optimism.Having analyzed these three odes from the perspectives of the beauty of imagery， the charm of musicality， the fantasy of dreams and the harmony between nature and human beings， readers can have a better understanding of the text.

References：

[1]Brooks，Cleanth.Understanding Poetry，Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，2004.

[2]Greenblatt，Stephen.The Norton Anthology of English Literature， Eighth Edition，New York：W.W.Norton and Company Press，2006.