“Teach me half the gladness…The world should listen then, as I am listening now.” Explain the lines

Teach me half the gladness

That thy brain must know,

Such harmonious madness

From my lips would flow

The world should listen then, as I am listening now.

This is the final stanza of the well-known lyric “To a Skylark” by P.B.Shelley. The poet idolizes the bird as a symbol of unmatched joy and seeks inspiration from it in this poem to sing enchantingly to the delight of humanity.

The poet asks the skylark to give him at least some of the spontaneous happiness that it has and shows in its song. The bird’s song is loud, full, and occasionally maddening, but it always sounds good. Under the inspiring guidance of the bird, Shelley hopes to sing in the same manner. After that, just like he is now listening to the bird’s enchanting melody, the entire world will be completely captivated by what he has to say.

This stanza contains a fervent prayer from the poet to the bird to have its inspiration. The poet wishes to sing to the joy of the world and so he appeals to the bird. Shelley’s appeal to the west wind for his own animation and inspiration may be referred too here. The stanza also bears out Shelley’s idealistic notion to turn the world into a place of happiness and joy.

Also read; “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought” explain from Shelley’s To a Skylark