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On Shakespeare by John Milton |
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What needs my Shakespeare for his honour'd Bones, The labour of an age in piled Stones, Or that his hallow'd reliques1 should be hid Under a Star-ypointing2 Pyramid? |
1
remains 2 an archaic Spenserian phrase, also used by Chaucer |
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| (5) |
Dear son of memory3, great heir of Fame, What4 need'st thou such weak witnes of thy name? Thou in our wonder and astonishment Hast built thy self a live-long5 Monument. For whilst to th' shame of slow-endeavouring art, |
3 as a "son of memory,"
Shakespeare is a brother of the Muses, who are the daughters of
Mnemosyne (Memory) 4 why 5 enduring |
| (10) |
Thy easie numbers6 flow, and that each heart Hath from the leaves of thy unvalu'd7 Book, Those Delphic8 lines with deep impression took, Then thou, our fancy of it self bereaving, Dost make us Marble with too much conceaving9; |
6 rhymed verses (refers to
meters) 7 invaluable 8 Apollo, Greek god of poetry, had an oracle at Delphi. |
| (15) |
And so Sepulcher'd in such pomp dost lie, That Kings for such a Tomb would wish to die. |
9 Shakespeare's mesmerized readers are themselves his ("marble") monuments. |
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'L'Allegro by John Milton |
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Hence loathed Melancholy, Of Cerberus,1 and blackest midnight born, In Stygian2 Cave forlorn 'Mongst horrid shapes, and shrieks, and sights unholy, |
1 three-headed
hellhound of classical mythology 2 near the river Styx, in the underworld |
|
| (5) |
Find out som uncouth3 cell, Where brooding Darkness spreads his jealous wings, And the night-Raven sings; There under Ebon4 shades, and low-brow'd rocks, As ragged as thy Locks, |
3 desolate or unknown 4 a hard, black type of wood |
| (10) |
In dark Cimmerian5
desert ever dwell. But come thou Goddess fair and free, In Heav'n yclept6 Euphrosyne7, And by men, heart-easing Mirth; Whom lovely Venus at a birth |
5 Homer's Cimmereans (from
The Odyssey) live on the outer edge of the world where it is always
night. Milton proposes a different parentage for Euphrosyne: Zephyr, the West Wind, and Aurora, goddess of the Dawn. |
| (15) |
With two sister Graces more To Ivy-crowned Bacchus bore; Or whether (as som Sager sing) The frolick Wind that breathes the Spring, Zephyr with Aurora playing, |
|
| (20) |
As he met her once a-Maying, There on Beds of Violets blue, And fresh-blown8 Roses washt in dew, Fill'd her with thee, a daughter fair, So bucksom9, blith, and debonair. |
8 newly opened 9 lively |
| (25) |
Haste thee nymph and bring with thee Jest and youthful Jollity, Quips10 and Cranks11, and wanton Wiles, Nods, and Becks12, and Wreathed Smiles Such as hang on Hebe's13 cheek, |
10 witty sayings 11 jokes 12 nods or curtseys, possibly flirtatious 13 Greek goddess of youth |
| (30) |
And love to live in dimple sleek; Sport that wrincled Care derides, And Laughter holding both his sides. Com, and trip it14 as ye go On the light fantastick toe, |
14 dance |
| (35) |
And in thy right hand lead with thee, The Mountain Nymph, sweet Liberty; And if I give thee honour due, Mirth, admit me of thy crue15 To live with her, and live with thee, |
15 crew, company |
| (40) |
In unreproved16 pleasures free; To hear the Lark begin his flight, And singing startle the dull night, From his watch-towre in the skies, Till the dappled dawn doth rise; |
16 irreproachable |
| (45) |
Then to com in spight of17 sorrow, And at my window bid good morrow, Through the Sweet-Briar, or the Vine, Or the twisted Eglantine18; While the Cock with lively din, |
17 in defiance of,
despite 18 a kind of rose or honeysuckle |
| (50) |
Scatters the rear19 of darknes thin, And to the stack20 , or the Barn dore, Stoutly, struts his Dames before, Oft list'ning how the Hounds and horn Chearly21 rouse the slumb'ring morn, |
19 As though the darkness
is an army that the rooster's crow forces to retreat quickly. 20 haystack 21 cheerily |
| (55) |
From the side of som Hoar Hill22, Through the high wood echoing shrill. Som time walking not unseen, By Hedgerow Elms, on Hillocks green, Right against the Eastern gate, |
22 hill covered in frost or dew |
| (60) |
Wher the great Sun begins his state23, Rob'd in flames, and Amber light, The clouds in thousand Liveries dight24. While the Plowman neer at hand, Whistles o'er the Furrow'd Land, |
23 stately procession, as
by a monarch 24 dressed in regalia |
| (65) |
And the Milkmaid singeth blithe, And the Mower whets his sithe25, And every Shepherd tells his tale26 Under the Hawthorn in the dale. Streight27 mine eye hath caught new pleasures |
25 sharpens his scythe, a tool for cutting grain 26 This is a pun: the shepherd both tells a story and counts the "tales" of his sheep. 27 immediately |
| (70) |
Whilst the Lantskip round it measures28, Russet Lawns, and Fallows29 Gray, Where the nibling flocks do stray, Mountains on whose barren brest The labouring clouds do often rest: |
28 travels the landscape 29 plowed land |
| (75) |
Meadows trim with daisies pide30; Shallow Brooks, and Rivers wide. Towers, and Battlements it sees Boosom'd high in tufted Trees, Wher perhaps som beauty lies, |
30 multicolored, spotted |
| (80) |
The Cynosure31 of neighbouring eyes. Hard by, a Cottage chimney smokes, From betwixt two aged okes, Where Corydon and Thyrsis met, Are at their savoury dinner set |
31 literally, the bright North Star; here, a splendid or brilliant object that attracts attention Milton uses classical pastoral names--Corydon, Thyrsis, Phillis, Thestylis--for his rustic English shepherds. |
| (85) |
Of Herbs, and other Country Messes, Which the neat-handed32 Phillis dresses; And then in haste her Bowre33 she leaves, With Thestylis to bind the Sheaves; Or, if the earlier season lead, |
32 nimble, skilled 33 cottage |
| (90) |
To the tann'd Haycock in the Mead34, |
34
stack of hay in a meadow 35 carefree 36 a small three-stringed fiddle |
| (95) |
To many a youth, and many a maid, Dancing in the Cheqer'd shade; And young and old com forth to play On a Sunshine Holyday, Till the live-long day-light fail, |
|
| (100) |
Then to the Spicy Nut-Brown Ale, With stories told of many a feat, How Faery Mab the junkets eat37. She was pincht, and pull'd she sed38; And he by Friar's Lanthorn led39 |
37
Queen Mab is the fairy queen; here, she is eating treats. 38 "She" and "he" are country folk telling of their experiences with fairies. 39 Friar's Lantern, ghostly lights that were said to be carried by goblins that could lead travelers astray 40 Robin Goodfellow, also called Puck (by Shakespeare) or Hobgoblin. Robin traditionally did all manner of drudging work for people, to be rewarded with a bowl of cream. |
| (105) |
Tells how the drudging Goblin swet40 To ern his Cream-bowle duly set, When in one night, ere glimps of morn, His shadowy Flale hath thresh'd the Corn That ten day-labourers could not end |
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| (110) |
Then lies him down the Lubbar Fend41, And stretch'd out all the Chimney's42 length, Basks at the fire his hairy strength; And Crop-full43 out of dores he flings, Ere the first Cock his Mattin44 rings. |
41
Puck; "lubber" means clumsy and a "fiend" is a spirit or demon 42 fireplace's 43 satisfied, full (of cream, presumably) 44 morning song |
| (115) |
Thus done the Tales, to bed they creep, By whispering Windes soon lull'd asleep. Towred Cities please us then,45 And the busie humm of men, Where throngs of Knights and Barons bold, |
4 5The scene shifts here to the city. |
| (120) |
In weeds46 of Peace high triumphs47 hold, With store of ladies, whose bright eyes Rain influence, and judge the prise Of Wit, or Arms, while both contend To win her Grace, whom all commend. |
46courtly costumes 47 royal pageants |
| (125) |
There let Hymen48 oft appear In Saffron robe, with Taper49 clear, And pomp, and feast, and revelry, With mask and antique50 Pageantry; Such sights as youthfull Poets dream |
48
Greek god of marriage, often portrayed in yellow-orange robes and
carrying a torch 49 candle or torch 50 ancient, also antic |
| (130) |
On Summer eeves by haunted stream. Then to the well-trod stage anon, If Jonson's learned Sock51 be on, Or sweetest Shakespear fancies childe52, Warble his native Wood-notes wilde. |
51 the comedian's low-heeled slipper, contrasted with the
tragedian's buskin, a high-heeled boot 52 Shakespeare is the child of fancy (imagination). |
| (135) |
And ever against eating Cares, Lap me in soft Lydian Aires53, Married to immortal verse, Such as the meeting soul may pierce In notes, with many a winding bout54 |
53 The Greek musical Lydian mode is soft and relaxing. 54 period of time |
| (140) |
Of linked sweetnes long drawn out, With wanton heed, and giddy cunning, The melting voice through mazes running; Untwisting all the chains that tie The hidden soul of harmony. |
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| (145) |
That Orpheus' self55 may heave his head From golden slumber on a bed Of heaped Elysian flowres, and hear Such streins as would have won the ear Of Pluto, to have quite set free |
55 Orpheus's music so moved Pluto that he agreed to release Orpheus's dead wife Eurydice from the underworld (Elysium). But Orpheus violated the conditions by looking back at her, and so lost her again. |
| (150) |
His half regained Eurydice. These delights, if thou canst give, Mirth with thee, I mean to live. |
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Il Penseroso by John Milton |
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Hence vain deluding joyes, The brood of folly without father bred, How little you bested1, Or fill the fixed mind with all your toyes2; |
1 help, aid 2 trifles |
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| (5) |
Dwell in som idle brain, And fancies fond3 with gaudy shapes possess, As thick and numberless As the gay motes4 that people the Sun Beams, Or likest hovering dreams |
3 foolish 4 tiny flecks of dust that can be seen in sunlight |
| (10) |
The fickle Pensioners5 of Morpheus'
6 train. But hail thou Goddes, sage and holy, Hail divinest Melancholy, Whose Saintly visage is too bright To hit7 the Sense of human sight; |
5 followers 6 Greek god of dreams 7suit 8 overlaid, covered |
| (15) |
And therfore to our weaker view, Ore laid8 with black staid Wisdom's hue; Black, but such as in esteem, Prince Memnon's sister9 might beseem, Or that Starr'd Ethiope Queen10 that strove |
9 Memnon, in Homer's Odyssey, was a handsome Ethiopian prince; his sister Himera's beauty was
mentioned by later commentators. 10 Cassiopeia was turned into a constellation ("starred") for bragging that she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. |
| (20) |
To set her beauty's praise above The Sea Nymphs, and their powers offended. Yet thou art higher far descended, Thee bright-hair'd Vesta11 long of yore, To solitary Saturn bore12; |
11 Roman goddess of the
hearth and home 12Roman god of agriculture and harvest Milton creates a story about Melancholy's parentage. |
| (25) |
His daughter she (in Saturn's raign, Such mixture was not held a stain). Oft in glimmering Bow, and glades He met her, and in secret shades Of woody Ida's13 inmost grove, |
13 Mount Ida, Crete; the place where many mythological stories take place and where Jove (Jupiter) was taken to be hidden from Saturn |
| (30) |
Whilst yet there was no fear of Jove14. Com pensive Nun, devout and pure, Sober, stedfast, and demure15; All in a robe of darkest grain16, Flowing with majestick train, |
14 Jove defeated his
father, Saturn, and took over the throne. 15 grave, serious, reserved 16color |
| (35) |
And sable stole of Cypress Lawn17 Over thy decent18 shoulders drawn. Com, but keep thy wonted state19, With eev'n step, and musing gait, And looks commercing20 with the skies, |
17 Cyprus linen, a delicate black cloth 18 comely, modestly covered 19 usual dignity 20 conversing |
| (40) |
Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes: There held in holy passion still, Forget thyself to Marble21, till With a sad22 Leaden downward cast23 Thou fix them on the earth as fast. |
21 still as a statue 22 grave, dignified 23 glance |
| (45) |
And joyn with thee calm Peace, and Quiet, Spare Fast, that oft with gods doth diet, And hears the Muses in a ring, Ay24 round about Jove's Altar sing. And adde to these retired leasure, |
24 continually, always |
| (50) |
That in trim Gardens takes his pleasure; But first, and chiefest, with thee bring, Him that yon soars on golden wing, Guiding the fiery-wheeled throne, The Cherub25 Contemplation, |
25 a higher order of angels whose job is to contemplate God |
| (55) |
And the mute Silence hist26 along, 'Less Philomel27 will daign a Song, In her sweetest, saddest plight, Smoothing the rugged brow of night, While Cynthia28 checks her Dragon yoke, |
26 summon 27 In Greek mythology, Philomela was transformed into a nightingale after her rape by her brother-in-law; the bird traditionally sings a mournful song. |
| (60) |
Gently o're th' accustom'd oke; Sweet Bird that shunn'st the noise of folly, Most musicall, most melancholy! Thee Chauntress oft the Woods among, I woo to hear thy Even-Song29; |
28 Goddess of the moon, also associated
with Hecate, goddess of the underworld, who drives a pair of sleepless
dragons 29 the evening liturgy traditionally sung by cloistered monks and nuns |
| (65) |
And missing thee, I walk unseen On the dry smooth-shaven Green, To behold the wand'ring Moon, Riding near her highest noon, Like one that had been led astray |
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| (70) |
Through the Heav'n's wide pathles way, And oft, as if her head she bow'd, Stooping through a fleecy cloud. Oft on a Plat30 of rising ground, I hear the far-off Curfew sound, |
30 plot, open field |
| (75) |
Over som wide-watered shoar, Swinging slow with sullen31 roar; Or, if the Air will not permit, Som still removed place will fit, Where glowing Embers through the room |
31 deep, mournful |
| (80) |
Teach light to counterfeit a gloom, Far from all resort of mirth, Save the Cricket on the hearth, Or the Belman's32 drowsie charm, To bless the dores from nightly harm: |
32 night watchman who rang a bell to mark the hours |
| (85) |
Or let my Lamp, at midnight hour, Be seen in som high lonely Towr, Where I may oft out-watch the Bear33, With thrice great Hermes34, or unsphere The spirit of Plato35 to unfold |
The speaker is reading by
lamplight. 33 Ursa Major, the Great Bear constellation, never sets in northern skies. To "out-watch the Bear" would be to stay up all night. 34 Hermes Trismegistus, ancient Egyptian author of mystical writings and a patron of alchemists and magicians. |
| (90) |
What Worlds, or what vast Regions hold The immortal mind that hath forsook Her mansion in this fleshly nook; And of those Demons36 that are found In fire, air, flood, or under ground, |
35 To "unsphere"
Plato is to bring him back to Earth from whatever sphere he inhabits. 36 Demons, halfway between gods and humans, preside over the four elements (fire, air, water, earth). |
| (95) |
Whose power hath a true consent37 With Planet, or with Element. Som time let Gorgeous Tragedy In Sceptr'd Pall38 come sweeping by, Presenting Thebes, or Pelops' line, |
37 agreement 38 royal robe, worn by high ranking individuals |
| (100) |
Or the tale of Troy divine Or what (though rare) of later age Ennobled hath the buskin'd39 stage. But, O sad Virgin, that thy power Might raise Musaeus40 from his bower; |
39
the buskin (high boot) of tragedy, contrasted with the
"sock" of comedy 40 mythical poet-priest of the pre-Homeric age, supposedly a son or pupil of Orpheus |
| (105) |
Or bid the soul of Orpheus41 sing Such notes as warbled to the string, Drew Iron tears down Pluto's cheek, And made Hell grant what Love did seek. Or call up him that left half told |
41Milton also alludes to Orpheus, Greek god of dreams, in L'Allegro. |
| (110) |
The story of Cambuscan bold42, Of Camball, and of Algarsife, And who had Canace to wife, That own'd the vertuous43 Ring and Glass, And of the wondrous Horse of Brass |
42Chaucer, whose Squire's Tale
which tells the story of the Tartar king Cambuscan is unfinished. 43having magical powers |
| (115) |
On which the Tartar King did ride; And if ought44 else great Bards beside, In sage and solemn tunes have sung, Of Turneys and of Trophies hung, Of Forests, and enchantments drear, |
44 anything |
| (120) |
Where more is meant than meets the ear.45 Thus night oft see me in thy pale career, Till civil-suited Morn46 appear, Not trickt and frounced47 as she was wont, With the Attick boy to hunt, |
45A brief definition of
allegory. 46Aurora, goddess of the dawn, once fell in love with Cephalus ("the Attick boy") and hunted with him. 47 adorned and with frizzled hair |
| (125) |
But cherchef't48 in a comely Cloud While rocking Winds are Piping loud, Or usher'd with a shower still,49 When the gust hath blown his fill, Ending on the Russling Leaves, |
48 covered, wearing 49 gentle |
| (130) |
With minute drops from off the Eaves. And when the Sun begins to fling His flaring beams, me Goddes, bring To arched walks of twilight groves, And shadows brown that Sylvan50 loves, |
50 Sylva, the Roman god of woodlands |
| (135) |
Of Pine, or monumental Oake, Where the rude Ax with heaved stroke, Was never heard the Nymphs to daunt, Or fright them from their hallow'd haunt. There in close covert51 by som brook, |
51 hidden place |
| (140) |
Where no profaner eye may look, Hide me from Day's garish eye, While the Bee with honied thie52, That at her flowery work doth sing, And the Waters murmuring |
52 honeyed thigh; that is, carrying honey |
| (145) |
With such consort53 as they keep, Entice the dewy-feather'd Sleep; And let som strange mysterious dream, Wave at his Wings in Airy stream, Of lively portraiture display'd, |
53 musical harmony; company |
| (150) |
Softly on my eye-lids laid. And as I wake, sweet musick breath Above, about, or underneath, Sent by som spirit to mortals good, Or th' unseen Genius54 of the Wood. |
54 guardian deity; the spirit of a place |
| (155) |
But let my due feet never fail, To walk the studious cloyster's pale55, And love the high embowed Roof, With antick56 Pillars massy proof,57 And storied Windows richly dight,58 |
55 This could refer to the
cloisters of a monastery, but more likely means a university. 56 Massive and strong. 57 covered with quaint or grotesque carvings; also antique. 58 sdrichly-dressed stained glass windows of Biblical stories |
| (160) |
Casting a dimm religious light. There let the pealing Organ blow, To the full voic'd Quire59 below, In Service high, and Anthems cleer, As may with sweetnes, through mine ear, |
59choir |
| (165) |
Dissolve me into extasies, And bring all Heav'n before mine eyes. And may at last my weary age Find out the peaceful hermitage, The Hairy Gown and Mossy Cell, |
|
| (170) |
Where I may sit and rightly spell60 Of every Star that Heav'n doth shew, And every Herb that sips the dew; Till old experience do attain To somthing like Prophetic strain. |
60study; decipher |
| (175) |
These pleasures Melancholy give, And I with thee will choose to live. |
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Paradise Lost |
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[from Book 1] |
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Of Man's First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man1 |
The poem's subject: Adam and Eve's eating from the Tree of Knowledge.1 Christ, the Messiah | |
| (5) |
Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat,
Sing Heav'nly Muse2, that on the secret top Of Oreb, or of Sinai3, didst inspire That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed4, In the Beginning how the Heav'ns and Earth |
2 ambiguous, though most
likely referring to the Holy Spirit 3 Mt. Oreb (or Horeb), where God spoke to Moses from a burning bush. Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai. 4 The Jews. |
| (10) |
Rose out of Chaos5:
Or if Sion Hill
Delight thee more, and Siloa's Brook that flow'd Fast by the Oracle of God6; I thence Invoke thy aid to my advent'rous Song, That with no middle flight intends to soar |
5 This echoes the first
words of Genesis: "In the beginning..." 6 Christ cured a blind man at the temple near Siloa's Brook in Mt. Zion, or Jerusalem. Milton is asking the Holy Spirit to aid him in telling the story; this request echoes the first lines of two other great epics, Homer's Odyssey and Virgil's Aenid. 7 The Aonian mount is Helicon, home of the Muses.8 Ironically, Milton makes a claim about his originality with a line translated from Ariosto's romantic epic Orlando Furioso. |
| (15) |
Above th' Aonian Mount7, while it pursues
Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime8. And chiefly Thou O Spirit, that dost prefer Before all Temples th' upright heart and pure, Instruct me, for Thou know'st; Thou from the first |
|
| (20) |
Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread
Dove-like sat'st brooding on the vast Abyss9 And mad'st it pregnant10: What in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support; That to the highth of this great Argument11 |
9 Phrases and images from Genesis (Milton provides his own
translation of the Hebrew). 10 The image here is of the Holy Spirit working with Chaos ("the Abyss") to create the universe. 11 subject, theme Milton's purpose in the poem is to show the justice of ("justifie") God's work. 12 This request for the story is an epic convention.13 a pun: Adam and Eve are the oldest ancestors and also of great importance. 14 Aside from their one restraint from God (eating from the Tree of Knowledge), Adam and Eve had authority over the world. |
| (25) |
I may assert th' Eternal Providence,
And justifie the wayes of God to men. Say first, for Heav'n hides nothing from thy view Nor the deep Tract of Hell, say first what cause12 Mov'd our Grand13 Parents in that happy State, |
|
| (30) |
Favour'd of Heav'n so highly, to fall off
From their Creator, and transgress his Will For one restraint, Lords of the World besides14? Who first seduc'd them to that foul revolt? Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile |
|
| (35) |
Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv'd
The Mother of Mankinde, what time15 his Pride Had cast him out from Heav'n, with all his Host Of Rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiring To set himself in Glory above his Peers, |
15 after Milton now turns to the story of Satan's rebellion against God. |
| (40) |
He trusted to have equal'd the most High,
If he oppos'd; and with ambitious aim Against the Throne and Monarchy of God Rais'd impious War in Heav'n and Battel proud With vain attempt16. Him the Almighty Power |
16 without success |
| (45) |
Hurld headlong flaming from th' Ethereal Skie
With hideous ruine and combustion down To bottomless perdition, there to dwell In Adamantine17 Chains and penal Fire, Who durst defie th' Omnipotent to Arms. |
17rigidly firm; unbreakable, like rocks |
| (50) |
Nine times the Space18 that measures Day and Night
To mortal men, he with his horrid crew Lay vanquisht, rowling in the fiery Gulfe Confounded though immortal: But his doom Reserv'd him to more wrath; for now the thought |
18 extent of time |
| (55) |
Both of lost happiness and lasting pain
Torments him; round he throws his baleful19 eyes That witness'd huge affliction and dismay Mixt with obdurate20 pride and stedfast hate: At once as far as Angels' kenn21 he views |
19 menacing or wretched 20 stubborn 21 range of sight |
| (60) |
The dismal Situation waste and wilde,
A Dungeon horrible, on all sides round As one great Furnace flam'd, yet from those flames No light, but rather darkness visible Serv'd only to discover sights of woe, |
|
| (65) |
Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace
And rest can never dwell, hope never comes22 That comes to all; but torture without end Still urges23, and a fiery Deluge, fed With ever-burning Sulphur unconsum'd: |
22 This alludes to the
famous description of the entrance to hell Dante's epic Inferno:
"All hope abandon, ye who enter here." 23 afflicts or bothers |
| (70) |
Such place Eternal Justice had prepar'd
For those rebellious, here their Prison ordain'd In utter darkness, and their portion set As far remov'd from God and light of Heav'n As from the Center thrice to th' utmost Pole... |
Milton's hell is a prison built by Justice for rebels against god. Here, he describes the distance between Heaven, at the center of the universe, and the Earth's pole that is farthest away from it. |
| (75) |
[from Book 4]Beneath him with new wonder now he views To all delight of human sense expos'd In narrow room Natures whole wealth, yea more, A Heaven on Earth, for blissful Paradise Of God the Garden was, by him in the East |
Satan has leapt over Eden's wall and is sitting in the Tree of Life, looking over the garden. |
| (80) |
Of Eden planted...
From this Assyrian24 Garden, where the Fiend25
Saw undelighted all delight, all kind Of living Creatures new to sight and strange: Two of far nobler shape erect and tall, |
24 Eden was
thought to lie in what became the Kingdom of Assyria. 25 Satan |
| (85) |
Godlike erect, with native Honour clad
In naked Majestie seemd Lords of all, And worthie seemd, for in their looks Divine The image of their glorious Maker shon26, Truth, Wisdome, Sanctitude severe and pure, |
26 According to Genesis, Adam was made in the image of God. |
| (90) |
Severe, but in true filial freedom27 plac't;
Whence true autoritie in men; though both Not equal, as their sex not equal seemd; For contemplation hee and valour formd, For softness shee and sweet attractive Grace, |
27 freedom given by a parent to a child |
| (95) |
Hee for God only, shee for God in him28:
His fair large Front29 and Eye sublime30 declar'd Absolute rule; and Hyacinthin Locks31 Round from his parted forelock manly hung Clustring, but not beneath his shoulders broad: |
28 Refers to the creation
story in Genesis 2, in which Adam was made for God and then Eve was made
for Adam. 29 a large forehead, implying intelligence 30 turned to Heaven 31 Adam is compared to Hyacinthus, a divine hero of Greek mythology; Homer describes Odysseus similarly. |
| (100) |
Shee as a vail down to the slender waste
Her unadorned golden tresses wore Dissheveld, but in wanton ringlets wav'd As the Vine curles her tendrils, which impli'd Subjection, but requir'd with gentle sway, |
|
| (105) |
And by her yielded, by him best receivd, Yielded with coy submission, modest pride, And sweet reluctant amorous delay. Nor those mysterious parts were then conceald, Then was not guiltie shame, dishonest32 shame |
32 unchaste or impure |
| (110) |
Of nature's works, honor dishonorable,
Sin-bred, how have ye troubl'd all mankind With shews instead, meer shews of seeming pure33, And banisht from man's life his happiest life, Simplicitie and spotless innocence. |
33 false displays of purity |
| (115) |
So passd they naked on, nor shund the sight
Of God or Angel, for they thought no ill: So hand in hand they passd, the lovliest pair That ever since in loves imbraces met, Adam the goodliest man of men since borne |
|
| (120) |
His Sons, the fairest of her Daughters Eve.
Under a tuft of shade that on a green Stood whispering soft, by a fresh Fountain side They sat them down, and after no more toil Of their sweet Gardning labour34 then suffic'd |
34 tending to the Garden of Eden |
| (125) |
To recommend coole Zephyr35, and made ease
More easie, wholsom thirst and appetite More grateful, to their Supper Fruits they fell, Nectarine Fruits which the compliant boughes Yielded them, side-long as they sat recline |
35 Greek god of the gentle west wind, which brought spring |
| (130) |
On the soft downie Bank damaskt36 with flours:
The savourie pulp they chew, and in the rinde Still as they thirsted scoop the brimming stream; Nor gentle purpose37, nor endearing smiles Wanted, nor youthful dalliance as beseems |
36 elaborately adorned;
also, pink, like a damask rose 37 Conversation, which Milton considered the most important part of a marriage. |
| (135) |
Fair couple, linkt in happie nuptial League,
Alone as they. About them frisking playd All Beasts of th' Earth, since wilde, and of all chase In Wood or Wilderness, Forrest or Den; Sporting the Lion rampd, and in his paw |
|
| (140) |
Dandl'd the Kid38; Bears, Tygers, Ounces, Pards39 Gambold40 before them, th' unwieldy Elephant To make them mirth us'd all his might, & wreathd His Lithe Proboscis41; close the Serpent sly Insinuating, wove with Gordian twine42 |
38 "Kid" likely refers to
a young goat or similar animal. 39 lynxes and leopards 40 frolicked or played 41 trunk 42 Refers to the story of the tangled Gordian knot, which Alexander the Great was able to untie only after he cut it in half with his sword. 43 cunning deceit or treachery |
| (145) |
His breaded train, and of his fatal guile43
Gave proof unheeded; others on the grass Coucht, and now fild with pasture gazing sat, Or Bedward ruminating: for the Sun Declin'd was hasting now with prone carreer |
|
| (150) |
To th' Ocean Iles, and in th' ascending Scale
Of Heav'n the Starrs that usher Evening rose: When Satan still in gaze, as first he stood, Scarce thus at length faild speech recoverd sad. O Hell! what doe mine eyes with grief behold, |
Satan speaks to Adam and Eve, though they do not hear him. |
| (155) |
Into our room of bliss44 thus high advanc't
Creatures of other mould, earth-born perhaps, Not Spirits, yet to heav'nly Spirits bright Little inferior45; whom my thoughts pursue With wonder, and could love, so lively shines |
44 This refers to the idea
that humans took the place of the fallen angels after Satan's rebellion. 45only slightly lower than |
| (160) |
In them Divine resemblance, and such grace
The hand that formd them on their shape hath pourd. Ah gentle pair, yee little think how nigh46 Your change approaches, when all these delights Will vanish and deliver ye to woe... |
46 soon |
| (165) |
Sight hateful, sight tormenting! thus these two47
Imparadis't48 in one anothers arms The happier Eden, shall enjoy their fill Of bliss on bliss, while I to Hell am thrust, Where neither joy nor love, but fierce desire, |
47 Later in Book 4, Satan
continues. 48 put in paradise, just as "imprisoned" means "put in prison" |
| (170) |
Among our other torments not the least,
Still unfulfill'd with pain of longing pines; Yet let me not forget what I have gain'd From their own mouths49; all is not theirs it seems: One fatal Tree there stands of Knowledge call'd, |
49 Satan overheard Adam and Eve earlier in Book 4. |
| (175) |
Forbidden them to taste: Knowledge forbidd'n?
Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envie them that? can it be sin to know, Can it be death? and do they onely stand By Ignorance, is that their happie state, |
Satan is arguing that God has forbidden Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil because he is envious of them. |
| (180) |
The proof of their obedience and their faith?
O fair foundation laid whereon to build Their ruine! Hence I will excite their minds With more desire to know, and to reject Envious commands, invented with designe |
|
| (185) |
To keep them low whom knowledge might exalt Equal with Gods; aspiring to be such, They taste and die: what likelier can ensue? But first with narrow50 search I must walk round This Garden, and no corner leave unspi'd; |
Again, Satan claims that God is envious, because Adam and Eve will be equal to gods when they eat from the Forbidden Tree.50 precise |
| (190) |
A chance but chance may lead where I may meet
Some wandring Spirit of Heav'n, by Fountain side, Or in thick shade retir'd, from him to draw What further would be learnt. Live while ye may, Yet happie pair; enjoy, till I return, |
|
| (195) | Short pleasures, for long woes are to succeed51... | 51 follow, ensue |