Please explain the following lines from "Ode to a Nightingale."Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! No hungry generations tread thee down;...

As with any question that asks you to explain a certain
part of a text or a poem, it is vital that you have a look at this excerpt within the
context of the poem as a whole and not just try to guess at the meaning by looking at
these lines in isolation. What is key to these lines is the way that they clearly point
towards the nightingale being a symbol of the eternal beauty of nature and enduring art
that makes it so separate from the experience of the speaker. The speaker says that the
nightingale was not "born for death" and that there are no "hungry generations" who are
trying to "tread thee down." Before these lines, the speaker has dwelled on the way that
life for humans is characterised by suffering and pain. Focusing on the nightingale, the
speaker now sees that this bird, and what it stands for, is free from this experience of
suffering. The beauty of the nightingale's song is something that has endured throughout
the ages, as it was heard "in ancient days by emperor and clown." Art and beauty, like
the nightingale's song, is therefore something that endures the test of time in a way
that humans cannot, but also penetrates every social sphere, both the great of the world
(the emperors) as well as the foolish (the clowns).