Do you consider Shelley's imagery to be "ethereal"? Discuss with special reference to "To a Skylark."

When we use the word ethereal we normally refer to an
other-worldly nature, that is not quite part of our realm of experience. In this poem we
can definitely see the way in which Shelley's descriptions of the skylark and the many
comparisons he uses to try and capture its beauty could be considered to be
other-worldly in their presentation. Consider some of the natural descriptions that are
given of the skylark:

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Like a cloud of
fire;

The blue deep thou
wingest...

The pale purple
even

Melts around thy
flight;

Like a star of
Heaven,

In the broad
daylight.

Note the way in
which both of these descriptions try to capture the beauty of the skylark by ethereal
descriptions. On the one hand, this tiny, diminutive bird is compared to a "cloud of
fire" as it wings its way through the "blue deep." Such vivid and dramatic imagery can
only be described as other-worldly in the way it gives the skylark almost mystical and
portentous significance. Likewise, its flight has the ability to melt the "pale purple
even" and it is described as a "star of Heaven" in "broad daylight." Note the way in
which this apparent paradox again is ethereal: how can there be a star of Heaven during
daylight? Yet this imagery captures the importance and majestic beauty of the
skylark.