Final answer:
Shelley uses the wind in 'Ode to the West Wind' and the skylark in 'To a Skylark' as personifications of inspiration, nature's power, and aspiration for unreachable qualities. Both are metaphors for the sublime and express deep emotions and philosophical ideas.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking about the symbolic representation of the wind in Percy Bysshe Shelley's “Ode to the West Wind” and the image of the skylark in “To a Skylark,” also by Shelley. In both poems, these natural elements are personified and used as metaphors for inspiration, the power of nature, and a longing for unreachable qualities such as pure beauty and freedom. The wind in “Ode to the West Wind” is portrayed as a force of change and rejuvenation, sweeping across the landscape and through the poet's thoughts. Similarly, the skylark is depicted as a creature of idealistic beauty and joy that sings with an effortless and divine purity the poet aspires to grasp within his own works. Both images evoke a sense of the sublime and the ineffable, and Shelley uses their qualities to express deep emotions and philosophical concepts.