To A Sky-lark by Percy Shelley Ode To A Nightingale by John Keats free essay sample

Compares styles, themes, realities of poems written in response to birds. Percy Shelleys poem To a Sky-Lark and John Keatss poem Ode to a Nightingale are both centered on nature in the form of birds. Both poems are classified as Romantic and have certain poetic elements in common, but in addition both poems have differences in style and in theme that differentiate them clearly. Both poets are spurred to react and to write because of their encounter with a bird. Shelley is addressing the bird that excites his interest more directly, while Keats turns to reverie because of the song of the nightingale more than the nightingale itself. In the latter case, the song of the poet has a different tone from the song of the birdthe joy of the bird becomes a contemplative song for the poet. Each poet begins with the reality of the bird or its song and then uses that as a beginning point for aesthetic and philosophic speculation, delving in each