What sort of readers did Milton expect and desire? See P. L. 7: 23-39. 6. For the beginning cf. Homer, Il. 1: 1-9: 'Sing, goddess, the wrath of Achilles, Peleus' son, the ruinous wrath that brought on the Achaians woes innumerable, and hurled down into Hades many strong souls of heroes, and gave their bodies to be a prey to dogs and all winged fowls; and so the counsel of Zeus wrought out its accomplishment from the day when first strife parted Atreides, king of men, and noble Achilles. Who then among the gods set the twain at strife and variance? Even the son of Leto and of Zeus; for he,' etc. Milton may also have had in mind Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, Book I, stanza 2, which runs thus in Fairfax's translation: O Heavenly Muse, that not with fading bays Why should the theme be announced at the beginning? Why, (a) according to ancient ideas, (b) according to modern ideas, should a muse or a goddess be invoked? What, if anything, would be gained by abandoning the formula? What is here effected by inversion? Where in the Bible is this theme treated? Transcribe the verses which relate to it. Is there any distinction between Eden and Paradise? 2. Mortal. See P. L. 2: 653, 729, 813. 4. Who is this 'greater Man'? See 1 Cor. 15: 21, 22, 45, 47. 4-5. Landor would omit these (and so vv. 14-16), 'as incumbrances, and deadeners of the harmony.' Is there any reason why they should be retained? 5. Restore. Why subjunctive? Blissful seat. Cf. P. L. 1: 467; 2: 347; 3: 527; Virgil, Æn. 6: 639, 'sedes beatas.' 6. Secret. What is the meaning of the Latin verb secernere? Ovid has (Met. 11: 765) 'secretos montes colebat;' how should this be translated? Top. Milton is here speaking of mountains and brooks. What reason might he have for introducing them? Cf. note on v. 15. 7. Oreb. For Horeb; see Exod. 3: 1; Deut. 4: 10-14. Sinai. See Exod. 19: 16-23. 8. Chosen seed. Deut. 10: 15; 1 Chron. 16: 13. 9. What verb is modified by in the beginning? Prove. 10. Define Chaos. 11. Siloa's brook. Cf. P. L. 7: 210-242. Isa. 8: 6. Pronounce Siloa. 12. Fast by. Define. Oracle of God; cf. 1 Kings 6: 16. 14. Middle. Define. Cf. v. 516. 14-16. Supposing the fact to be true,' says Landor, 'the mention of it is unnecessary and unpoetical. Little does it become Milton to run in debt with Ariosto for his Cose non dette mai nè in prose o in rima.' Cf. note on 4-5. 15. Aonian. Define. Aonian mount = Parnassus, a high mountain in Phocis, with two peaks, sacred to Apollo and the Muses, at whose foot was the city of Delphi and the Castalian spring. Aonian mount is a figurative expression; what does it signify? Pursues. A Latinism; so in Virgil, Georg. 3: 339-340, 'Quid pascua versu prosequar?' 16. Rhyme. Perhaps not to be confounded with rime. The latter is O E. rim, but this etymology was obscured by the Greek þvμós, from which the rh seems to have come. Hence two senses, as well as two forms. See my edition of Sidney's Defense of Poesy, note on 567. Is it true that this theme had never been attempted before? 17. For the divine mission of the poet, see Sidney, Defense of Poesy, 58-626' 17 18. Heart. 1 Cor. 3: 16. 19. Thou know'st. So Theocritus, Idyls 22: 116. 21. Dove-like. Luke 3: 22. Brooding. This is the meaning of the Hebrew word rendered moved in Gen. 1: 2. See P. L. 7: 235; Hymn on Nativity 68. Abyss. See P. L. 2: 910-916. 22-26. What ... men. Landor would omit these lines; but memorize, for they are famous. 24. Highth. Milton's spelling, and so better: OE. hiehthu. Argument. Theme. 25. Assert. Defend, champion; a Latinism. 26. See note on vv. 214-215. 27. Cf. Il. 2: 484-487: 'Tell me now, ye Muses that dwell in the mansions of Olympus- seeing that ye are goddesses and are at hand and know all things, but we hear only a rumor and know not anything, who were the captains of the Danaans and their lords.' Cf. Ps. 139: 7, 8. 28. Cause. So En. 1: 8: 'O Muse, relate to me the causes, tell me in what had her will been thwarted,' etc. 29. Meaning of grand? 34. I am sorry that Milton did not always keep separate the sublime Satan and "the infernal serpent."'-LANDOR. But see Rev. 12:9; 20: 2. 35. Envy. See P. L. 9: 466; p. 191, v. 2 ff. Revenge. This word occurs ten times more in the first two books. 36. What is the meaning of the word Eve? See Gen. 3: 20. What time. This seems to be of Northern origin. It is found in the Ormulum (ca. 1200), and in Coverdale's Bible. It has been retained in the Bible, as, e.g., Ps. 56: 3. 37. Cast out. See note on v. 34. 38. Cf. p. 192, v. 45. Metrically considered, how does this line differ from any which have preceded it? Landor says: 'It is much to be regretted, I think, that he admits this metre into epic poetry. It is often very efficient in the dramatic, at least in Shakespeare, but hardly ever in Milton. He indulges in it much less fluently in Paradise Lost than in the Paradise Regained.' 39. Cf. P. L. 5: 725; 6: 88; 7: 140. 40. Isa. 14 14. To have equaled; is this grammatically correct? 43. Cf. p. 193, v. 60. For the thought cf. p. 193, v. 62 ff. 45. See Isa. 14: 12, 15; Luke 10: 18; and cf. P. L. 6: 824-874, and note on v. 745. Define ethereal; cf. P. L. 3: 716 ff.; 5: 267. 47. Bottomless. Inexhaustible; with a suggestion of bottomless pit,' P. L. 6: 866 (from Rev. 20: 3). 48. Adamantine chains. From the Prometheus Bound of Eschylus, v. 6. Meaning? Cf. P. L. 2: 646, 853. 49. Durst. The invariable preterit in Milton; OE. dorste. What is the modern preterit ? 53. Confounded. May there not be two or three meanings blended in this word? Study it in a good dictionary. 56. Define baleful; cf. P. L. 2: 576; Comus 255. 58. Pronounce obdurate. On Satan as the hero of Paradise Lost, see Introduction, p. 35. 59. Define ken. 60. Waste and wild. Note the alliteration, and cf. P. L. 3 : 424. 61. Dungeon. So P. L. 2: 317, 1003. 63. Cf. p. 194, v. 96. Darkness visible. The ultimate source of this thought may be Job 10: 22: 'A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.' Upon this is based the Chaucerian passage in the Parson's Tale: 'The derke light that shal come out of the fyr that evere shal brenne shal turne hym al to peyne.' Milton may have had Spenser in mind, as frequently (F. Q. I. i. 14): — His glistring armor made Cf. also Il Pens. 79-80: Where glowing embers through the room Sallust, Jugurtha 21 : 2, has 'obscuro lumine.' Lucan, too, has a striking passage concerning a stormy night, which Milton may have noted (5: 630–631): Nec fulgura currunt Clara, sed obscurum nimbosus dissilit aer. '(The lightnings run without flame, and, though the cloud bursts, it remains dark '). Hope never comes. 64. Discover. Cf. v. 724. 66. (Inf. 3:9)? Was Milton a student of Dante ? p. 27. What are the famous words of Dante 68. Urges. A Latinism. Define. 69. Sulphur. See Rev. 19: 20; 20: 10. 70. Prepared. See Matt. 25 41. 72. Utter darkness. So P. L. 3: 16; 5: 614; and Shakespeare, 1 Hen. IV. III. iii. 42. See Matt. 8: 12; 22: 13; 25: 30; Jude 6. For the equivalence of outer and utter see Ezek. 10: 5; 42: 1. Portion. See Matt. 24: 51. 74. Not very far for creatures who could have measured all that distance, and a much greater, by a single act of the will.' — LANDOR. Is this a just criticism? How long had it taken them to fall (P. L. 6 871; cf. 8: 113-114)? Cf. the Genesis of the Pseudo-Cadmon, p. 193, v. 71. In Il. 8: 13-16, Zeus threatens: 'I will take and cast him into misty Tartaros, right far away, where is the deepest gulf beneath the earth, as far beneath Hades as Heaven is high above the earth.' In En. 6: 577-579, the Sibyl speaks: 'Then Tartarus itself yawns with sheer descent, and stretches down through the darkness twice as far as the eye travels upward to the firmament of heaven.' 78. Weltering. Define. See Lyc. 13. 81. Beelzebub. See 2 Kings 1: 2 ff.; Matt. 12: 24. See Milton's description of him, P. L. 2: 299-309. What indications of his character are given in P. L. 1: 128-155, 271-282; 2: 299-380? what respect, if any, does he appear inferior to Satan? In Arch-Enemy. How does this term differ in meaning from the Arch-Fiend of P. L. 1: 156, 209 (cf. Arch-Foe, P. L. 6: 259)? What is the etymology of fiend? What the meaning of the word Satan? With 81 ff. cf. p. 194, v. 108 ff. 83. Horrid. Why horrid? Has the word occurred before in this Book? 84. Beest. Is this the usual word? But oh, etc. Note the anacoluthon in this speech. What is anacoluthon ? What does this figure suggest on the part of the speaker ? How fallen! how changed. An allusion to Scripture and to Virgil. See Isa. 14: 12, and En. 2: 274. What expressions in this speech are complimentary ? Could Satan have any reason for using compliment? Are there any expressions denoting superiority? Why would not monologue have served as well in this place? 84-94. Mark the cæsural pauses, and note the number of syllables which precede the pause in the successive lines. Would uniformity |