32-36. oaten; in primitive times, simple musical instruments were made from reeds. Satyrs; (Greek) half-man, half-goat. They were the traditional attendants of Bacchus, at whose orgies they danced and played. Cl. Myths, § 47 (3), 102, 117. Fauns; (Latin), rustic divinities, of gentler nature than the Satyrs, but often confused with them. Cl. Myths, § 56 (7). psychical romance, The Marble Faun. Chappell, Tutor at Christ's College when See also Hawthorne's The name Damætas occurs in the Sixth Idyll of Theocritus. 37-49. wardrobe, by metonymy = apparel. When first, etc.; this seems to be a reminiscence of Midsummer Night's Dream, i. 1, 183-5. your tongue's sweet air More tunable than lark to shepherd's ear When wheat is green, when hawthorn buds appear. 50-63. the steep; this description would answer to many mountains in Wales. Druids; by a false etymology this word was long derived from the Greek (Spiç) drus, an oak, because the Druids worshipped in oak-groves. The word is really from the Old Keltic drui, meaning magician.' Mona = Anglesey, once a famous strong 6 hold of the Druids. Deva the Dee, once a part of the boundary line between England and Wales. There are many Keltic legends connected with it, hence the epithet 'wizard.' ishly. fondly fool the muse = Calliope. For the death of Orpheus, see Cl. Myths, pages 187-8. Orpheus seems to be a favorite subject with Milton; this is the third reference we have had to him. Where are the other two? In Par. Lost, VII. 34–38, we have a fourth : that wild rout that tore the Thracian bard In Rhodope, where woods and rocks had ears, Both harp and voice; nor could the Muse defend Her son. swift Hebrus; the Hebrus is not swift, but slow; Milton's phrase is a literal translation of Vergil's 'volucrem Hebrum' (Æneid I. 316). See note on that line in Allen & Greenough's Vergil. 64-84. A digression upon Fame: an answer to the Cui Bono that comes to every earnest man at some time in his career. You will notice that the classical imagery is admirably sustained throughout this passage, though there must have been a great temptation to break off into a Hebraistic strain such as characterizes lines 108-131. What boots it? What profits it? Boots is from the Old English bōt, ‘advantage.' It has no etymological connection with boot in the sense of foot-wear, which is from the French botte. meditate the thankless Muse; a transcript from Vergil, Eclogue I. 2: 'Silvestrem tenui Musam meditaris avena:' Thou dost practise rustic verse on the thin reed. use are accustomed. The preterite of use' retains this meaning. Amaryllis; Neæra; names of girls in Vergil's Eclogues. The names occur again in an elegy of George Buchanan's with which this passage shows Milton to have been familiar. Lovelace has closely followed the phraseology of line 69 in the first verse of his beautiful song, To Althea from Prison.' (Palgrave's Golden Treasury, Song 99). clear 40-2. blaze = When Love with unconfinéd wings Hovers within my gates, To whisper at the grates; And fetter'd to her eye, The birds that wanton in the air Know no such liberty. pure, irreproachable, as in The Merchant of Venice, ii. 9, 'O that estates, degrees and offices Were not derived corruptly; and that clear honor the light of fame. Par. Regained, III. 25-48, forms an interesting comment on this passage. Fury; the Furies (Erinyes or Eumenides) were Alecto (The Implacable), Tisiphone (The Avenger of Murder) and Megæra (The Envying One). They personified Remorse; Cl. Myths, § 51 (2). In the Hellenic Mythology, it is not one of the Furies but one of the Fates (Atropos, The Inflexible), that cuts the thread of life. The other Fates were Clotho (The Spinner) and Lachesis (The Allotter): Cl. Myths, § 43, (6); also pp. 279-80. Phoebus, or Phœbus Apollo, the god of Poetry and Music, Cl. Myths, § 38. Lines 76-7 are imitated from Vergil, Eclogue VI. 3-4; 'When I would sing of kings and wars, Cynthius plucked my ear and reminded me — The seat of memory was supposed to be in the ear. foil (Latin folium, whence 'foliage'); in jewelry, a thin sheet of metal often put under a poor stone to add luster by reflection. So diamonds owe a luster to their foil.' (Pope.) With this meaning for 'foil' the interpretation will be: Fame is not like a cheap jewel displayed to the world with meretriciously heightened effect, but 85-102. fountain Arethuse; in the little island of Ortygia lying in the harbor of Syracuse. For the story of Arethusa and Alpheus see Cl. Myths, § SS, and Shelley's Arethusa, there quoted. Min cius, a little river in Northern Italy, near Mantua, the birthplace of Vergil. It is often mentioned in his writings. In what consists the appropriateness of these Sicilian and Italian allusions? Her Hippo ald of the sea = Triton, Cl. Myths, § 54 (1); also the sonnet from Wordsworth quoted on p. 87 of that book. in Neptune's plea = in defense of Neptune. of rugged wings, seems best taken as an adjective phrase with gust. beakéd promontory; this metaphor shows a reversal of the usual process. What is that? tades. See the opening of Odyssey X.: "Soon we drew near the island of Æolia, where Œolus, the son of Hippotas, dear to immortal gods, dwelt on a floating island. All around it is a wall of bronze, not to be broken through, and smooth and steep rises the rocky shore." The suffixes ades, ides (Masculine) and — as, is, — eis (Feminine) when added to proper names form Patronymics, indicating descent or relationship; thus (as above) Hippot-ades, son of Hippotas; Tyndar-is, daughter of Tyndarus. See A. & G. Latin Grammar, § 164 (b). dungeon; there is a fine description of the cave of the winds in the Æneid, I. 50-63. Panope (The All-Seeing One) and her forty-nine sisters were sea-nymphs, daughters of Nereus and Doris. eclipse; eclipses were long believed to be signs of divine displeasure. Compare the still-common superstition about the moon's phases affecting the weather. 103-7. Camus; the divinity of the sluggish Cam. mantle hairy, etc. River-sponge and sedge grow luxuriantly in the Cam today. The figures dim' may refer to curious streaks that show on the sedge when dried. Sanguine flower; the hyacinth. For pledge (like the Latin pig the legend, see Cl. Myths, $ 74. 108-131. Consult your English History for the memorable events of this exciting year, 1637. Pilot; See Matthew IV. 18-19. Keys; Matthew XVI. 19. amain = with force. The prefix here is merely intensive (as in a-wake, a-rouse) and signified originally 'out of,' 'up.' climb into the fold; compare the sonnet to mouths; a strong metonymy for gluttons.' Cromwell, p. 16. 6 Ruskin has an elaborate comment on this passage in Sesame and Lilies, Lecture I. Milton's phraseology throughout is forcible, if not elegant. sped. Two interpretations are possible. 1o, Mercutio when wounded exclaims, 'I am sped,' where the meaning is evidently despatched,' 'done for.' (Romeo and Juliet, iii. 1.). 2o, sped may have its original meaning of 'prospered.' originally like 'please' an impersonal verb used with a dative object; very common in Chaucer. list, flashy insipid: obsolete in = scrawny, thin. This word is found in no other classic author, and nowhere in Milton save here. Like many other old words, it has survived in a dialect (Lancashire 'scrannel' = a lean fellow) while it has disappeared from polite speech. The grim wolf, has never been satisfactorily explained. The following conjectures worthy of notice have been put forward. 1o, Archbishop Laud; 2o, the Devil; 3°, the grievous wolves' of Acts XX. 29; 4o, Conversion to Roman Catholicism, common at this time. Nothing said. The interpretation of this depends upon which of the four conjectures just mentioned you adopt. handed engine. This is as great a crux as the 'grim wolf.' Suggested interpretations are, 1o, The two Houses of Parliament; 2o, Death; 3o, The sword of the Archangel Michael; 4o, The sharp twoedged sword of Revelation, I. 16; 5o, 'The axe laid unto two the root of the trees,' in Luke III. 9; 6o, 'The sword of the spirit,' in Ephesians VI. 17. Read this passage (108-131) again. Do you think the poem would be improved by removing it? Does the fact that King was a clergyman justify the introduction of St. Peter as representing the Christian Church? 132-141. Alpheus. See notes on 85-102. use= are accustomed (to dwell) = haunt. Compare line 67. of shades, depends upon 'whispers.' Swart-star Sirius. In Greece and southern Italy its rising coincides with the time of greatest heat, and was popularly supposed to be the cause thereof, hence swart-star = the star that browns or tans. It shines with a bright, white light, and is easily found by prolonging to the left the line of Orion's belt. Why is it sometimes called the Dog-Star? Has this epithet any real connection with dog days'? quaint; not 'curious,' but probably merely = 'pretty,' as in Margaret's description of Hero's weddinggown as of a fine, quaint, graceful fashion' (Much Ado, iii. 4. 20). 142-151. Ruskin has an elaborate and somewhat far-fetched criticism on this passage in Modern Painters, Part III. Sec. II. Chap. III. It may suffice for your purpose if you acquire a clear conception of the nature and appearance of each flower mentioned. Some of them you can see in conservatories or in gardens; for others you must trust to the descriptions in your Botany. A little reflection will show you that in nearly every case there is appropriateness in the introduction of the flower in this connection. Read for comparison the passage in the Winter's Tale (iv. 3) beginning O Proserpina, For the flowers now that, frighted, thou let'st fall — hearse; not a 'carriage' but a 'bier.' Another and an older meaning is a canopy (set over the bier) to hold candles. 152-164. monstrous world. Methought I saw a thousand fear wrecks: All scattered in the bottom of the sea. Bellerus; a Cornish giant of Milton's invention. He coined the word from Bolerium, the Roman name for Land's End. VISION. On St. Michael's Mount, near Penzance, there was formerly a monastery of Benedictine monks. They had a tradition that the Archangel Michael had once appeared here to some of their order; on the spot where he was seen they erected a stone lantern. guarded, may refer to the ruins of a fortress that once occupied the Mount or to the guard kept by the angel. Namancos; Bayona; given in Mercator's Atlases (1623 and 1636 as towns near Cape Finisterre in Galicia. There was an old tradition that Finisterre could be seen from Land's End. dolphins; consult the Classical Dic tionary, article Arion; see also George Eliot's poem, Arion. Look how the floor of Heaven Merch, of Venice, v. 1. 57-8. the day-star = the sun. tricks; compare Il Penseroso, 123. The simile in lines 168-171 has been used by innumerable poets; it must be confessed also that Milton's treatment, though very beautiful, is somewhat conventional. Notice Browning's more original and striking application of the same figure, at the close of his Waring. Oh, never star Was lost here but it rose afar! Look east, where whole new thousands are! In Vishnu-land what Avatar? 172-181. The imagery of this passage is drawn chiefly from the description of the New Jerusalem, Revelation XXI. and XXII. Is such imagery appropriately introduced in a poem of this kind? nectar. This is certainly an inappropriate word in this passage, associated as it is with suggestions of Olympian revelry. unexpresOrlando sive = inexpressible, that is, too sweet for expression. describes his mistress as 'The fair, the chaste, the unexpressive she.' (As You Like It, iii. 2. 10). 182-185. Genius of the shore; compare Il Penseroso, 154. See also the story of Leucothea and Palamon, Cl. Myths, § 129. |