Percy Bysshe Shelley · England · 1817
Hark! the owlet flaps his wings In the pathless dell beneath; Hark! 'tis the night-raven sings Tidings of approaching death.
Percy Bysshe Shelley · England · 1817
Hark! the owlet flaps his wings In the pathless dell beneath; Hark! 'tis the night-raven sings Tidings of approaching death.
“Hark! the owlet flaps his wings…”
Shelley creates an atmosphere of supernatural dread through the sounds and movements of nocturnal creatures. The poem invites us to listen—to truly pay attention—to the owlet's wings beating in an untamed forest and the night-raven's haunting song. These are not merely natural observations but omens, signs that something dark approaches. The creatures themselves become messengers of fate, their calls transformed into prophecies of death.
Why this poem matters
Written during Shelley's most intensely creative period, this fragment exemplifies his Romantic preoccupation with the supernatural and the darker dimensions of nature. The poem reflects the Gothic influences prevalent in early 19th-century Romantic poetry, where natural phenomena were laden with symbolic and ominous meaning.