BOOK I. OF Man's first disobedience, and the fruit That shepherd, | who first taught the chosen seed, | 10 Rose out of Chaos : | or, if Sion hill 1. In selecting the Iambic blank verse for his epic poem, Milton felt that it lacked weight and dignity. To remedy these defects he has tried to remove much of its light, tripping character by introducing Spondees and Trochees instead of Iambi. Of these two substitutes, the Spondee is unexceptional; but the Trochee belongs to a rhythm directly opposed to the Iambus, and its too frequent introduction into Iambic verse tends to destroy not only the Iambic rhythm but all rhythm. Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit of that forbidden tree-Indirect Obj. to sing. (Gr. 77. 4.) Whose mortal taste... Eden--Adj. Sent. to fruit. Till one man ... Heavenly Muse-Nom. of address. 4. One greater Man.-The Comparative has reference to the Man Adam, 1. 1. 5. Restore us, and regain.-This is the Pres. Subj. Strictly interpreted, therefore, it refers to a future event, which can only be the final salvation of the individual man at the judgment day. It is, therefore, not the act of Christ's atonement that is alluded to. 5. The blissful seat.-Eden in its wider sense, the seat or dwelling of heavenly bliss. 6. Secret. When God communed with Moses on Sinai, the mountain was covered with "dark clouds" and "thick smoke." It was secret from vulgar eyes as the Holy of Holies in the Temple. The suggestion of the ingenious Bentley, therefore, to read sacred for secret, though very plausible, is not tenable. 9. In the-A trochee. See г. 1, Note. 10. Chaos.-The chaos of Hesiod is the infinite void from which arose the visible world. The chaos of Ovid is the original, formless material of the world. The account of the creation given in Genesis, though acknowledging no chaos properly speaking, seems to approach to the second conception of chaos, the gross and shapeless mass which was by degrees elaborated into the beautiful order, the kosmos, of the Creation. It is not to be expected that the poetic language and imagery borrowed from the mythology of Greece, should exactly fit a Christian Delight thee more, and Siloa's brook] that flowed That with no middle flight intends to soar 15 Above the Aonian mount, | while it pursues Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme. | And chiefly Thou, O Spirit,) that dost prefer 25 I may assert Eternal Providence, | And justify the ways of God to men.] Say first,] for Heaven hides nothing from thy view, epic. Hence the frequent difficulties into which Milton involves himself and his readers by his unsparing use of classical allusions and mythological imagery. 14, 15. The Aonian mount is Helicon in Boeotia or Aonia, the seat of the Muses. The poet proposes to himself a higher theme than a Greek poet could attempt. Yet the imagery with which this idea is expressed, is entirely Greek. It is repeated more fully, vii 3 "Above the Olympian hill I soar, Above the flight of Pegasoan wing" It was the Italian poet Bojardo who first represented the winged horse Pegasus as the peculiar property of poets, destined to carry them upwards in their "adventurous flights." Comp. Cowper, Task, i. 4. Rhyme is used here for poetry in general. 21. Dove-like sat'st brooding.-Genesis i. 2, "And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The expression, dovelike, is based upon Luke iii. 22. Brood is a more correct translation of the Hebrew original than move, in the authorized version of the Bible. 24. To the highth of this great argument -i.e., in a manner worthy of this great argument. 25. To men-Indir. Obj. to justify. 26. This is done especially fii. 80-134. 27. (a) Say [thou] first-Prin. Sent. (b) For Heaven . . . view Paren. Sent. (c) Nor the deep tract of Hell-Paren. Sent. (d) What cause. . . besides-Subst. Favoured of Heaven so highly- To fall off.. and transgress (e) [Except] for one restraint, lords of the world besides-Enlarg. of direct Obj. parents. 27. The first in this and the following line is not followed by any correlative Adverb, Moved our grand Parents, in that happy state, 30 Favoured of Heaven so highly, to fall off From their Creator, and transgress his will The mother of mankind, what time his pride To set himself in glory above his peers, Raised impious war in Heaven, and battle proud, To bottomless perdition: there to dwell such as next or then. This kind of forgetfulness is very frequent in the best Classical writers. 29 That-Comp. Note to 1. 2. 33. This question is partly an answer to the previous question, inasmuch as it supposes that our grand parents were seduced. 34. This direct question, and somewhat abrupt answer, are a manifest imitation of Homer, Il. i. 8, "Which God set on the two to direful strife? Zeus' son and Leto's." 36. What time-At that time when-a favourite expression of Milton. 38. Aspiring to set himself in glory above his peers-Enlargement to Subj. He in line 40. 39. To set himself in glory above his peers. -Bentley remarks that this is a slip on the part of the blind poet; for Satan was already placed above his peers (Paradise Lost, v. 812), and his ambition was to be above the Messiah (v. 662). 40. He trusted to have equalled the Most High-i.e., he had trusted to equal. So vi. 20, What for news he thought to have reported; also vi. 131, Thy hope was to have reached The highth of thy aspiring unopposed. Similar expressions are, I might, should, could, ought to, have done it. I meant to have written. It is a process of shifting the indication of tense from one verb to another. 41. With ambitious aim against, &c.Extension to pred. “ raised,” in line 43. 44. Him, &c.-Mark the almost imper. ceptible transition to the narrative. 45. Two beautiful alliterations. Who durst defy the Omnipotent to arms. | 50 Nine times the space) that measures day and night Torments him | round he throws his baleful eyes,| 60 The dismal situation waste and wild :| A dungeon horrible on all sides round, As one great furnace flamed ;| yet from those flames 65 Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, | where peace With ever-burning sulphur unconsumed :] 70 Such place Eternal Justice had prepared For those rebellious; | here their prison ordained 49. The antecedent to who is him, v. 44. 52. Vanquished-rolling-confounded.Participles used as extensions to pred. (Gr. 78, d). 53. Though immortal.-This may be considered as an enlargement to Subj. he. 54. Now, i.e., since he had recovered consciousness. 55. Lost and lasting-Alliteration and assonance; the latter is the identity of consonants at the end of words. 57. Witnessed-i.e., manifested. 59. As far as a compound preposition. 62. Fourfold alliteration. 62. Yet from those flames [came] no light -Princip. Sent. adversative. 66. [Where] hope never comes-Adj. Sent. to "shades." 68. Still is very frequently used in the sense of ever, for ever, constantly. 68. Urges, i.e., pursues. 71. For those rebellious-Indirect Obj. When the Adject. is used as a Subst. in the plural, it is not preceded by qualifying pronouns. We can say, He loves the grateful, but not, He loves these grateful. Yet Milton breaks often through this rule, as v. 567, so many glorious once; vi. 414, his rebellious; vi. 687, these disobedient. 72. Their portion. ... as far removedDouble Obj.-Gr. 76, Remark 1. As far removed from God and light of Heaven,] Beelzebub. And thence in Heaven called Satan, with bold words If thou beest he; | but oh, how fallen! how changed 85 From him,] who, in the happy realms of light, Clothed with transcendent brightness, didst outshine And hazard in the glorious enterprise, 90 Joined with me once,) now misery hath joined From what highth | fallen ;) so much the stronger proved 74. As [it is] from the centre-Adv. Sent. 78. Weltering-To welter is to roll, to wallow. German, wälzen. From weltering to Beelzebub is an enlarged Obj. to discerns. 84. 1. If thou beest he-Adverb. Sent. Sent. 3. Who in the happy realms... though 5. Whom mutual league... with me 6. Now [whom] misery hath joined in equal ruin-Adj. Sent. to the Pron. He. 7. Fallen-Participle agreeing with me. 8. Into what pit, thou seest, from what height-Equivalent to into the pit and from the height, which thou seest: Adjunct to fallen. 9. So much the stronger proved he with his thunder-Adv. Sent. to 6. Equivalent to inasmuch as he proved so much the stronger. 10. And till then who knew the force of those dire arms-Prin. Sent. N.B.-A very confused passage, with no Prin. Sent. for the basis. This is excused by the abrupt form of address.-Comp. v. 543. |