Sam Shien Jinn
English 1B Honors
Professor Robert Oventile
11/5/2014
Lycidas and Adonais: A Longinian Analysis While parallels are frequently drawn between John Milton’s “Lycidas” and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Adonais”, both poems, in their isomorphism, delineate and differentiate in their own right. Both works, long considered canons of pastoral elegy, display notable dissonances despite the misleadingly synonymous affinities. The true qualities, lie much deeper within the structures of these works than in the themes they choose to address. Strictly speaking, the qualitative nature of these elegies appear to be embedded more so, in the treatment of their respective themes, than the themes itself- a characteristic atypical of traditional literature.
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While the idea forms the central pivot of the elegy, it is the emotion which assumes the role of the catalyst by which the thoughts are to target. Longinus acknowledges emotions as the catalyst for intellect and the stimulation of the ‘idea’. He posits that without “vehement” and inspired “passion” true sublimity cannot be achieved, as the essence of admirable qualities lie in the intensity of emotion (Longinus 130). After all, sublimity, is, strictly speaking, a construct analogous to the emotion. Yet again, the established Longinian axioms can be observed in the works of Milton and Shelley. “Adonais” and “Lycidas” mirror these principles in the tone and the story they tell. Both elegies are entities born and incubated of the intense sorrow and grief that both authors face at the loss of their friends. While “Lycidas” eventually evolves into a critique of the perceived immorality of religious and moral institutions, the underlying tone of the poem is that of the lamenting of the loss of a friend. This is seen in Milton’s direct allusions to the “rot” and “foulness” of the corruption of the clergy of his time Milton (153)In the case of “Adonais”, a similar sentiment is reflected in the tormented elegy, as Shelly utilizes his mourning and anger at the injustice he deems to have befallen his deceased friend, to deliver deeper underlying themes of the nature and place of the “Spirit” (Shelley 300)
Each literary work portrays something different, leaving a unique impression on all who read that piece of writing. Some poems or stories make one feel happy, while others are more solemn. This has very much to do with what the author is talking about in his or her writing, leaving a bit of their heart and soul in the work. F. Scott Fitzgerald, when writing The Great Gatsby, wrote about the real world, yet he didn’t paint a rosy picture for the reader. The same can be said about T.S. Eliot, whose poem “The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock,” presents his interpretation of hell. Both pieces of writing have many similarities, but the most similar of them all is the tone of each one.
Nonetheless, this sonnet greatly relates, as it wonderfully demonstrates, how individuals can change their perspectives. Knowing what one has or what one is capable of, better enables anyone to identify with oneself. Though Milton’s experience in finding himself does not provide him with a new love or appreciation for another individual, it more importantly offers him love for himself and his God. He learns to appreciate the art of patience and what he still has and uses it to make his existence worth while. Milton experiences a world in which half of his days are spent “in this dark world” (line 2), yet he continues to carry out his poetry writing - the “talent” (3) God has given him.
...was influenced greatly by Milton’s work, evidence of which lies in the eerie similarities between the two. The allusions to Paradise Lost give the reader a story by which to subconsciously compare the characters of Frankenstein, thus also reiterating one of the main themes; the quest for knowledge and the resultant death. Following the death of Frankenstein, his monster utters his own last words. “‘But soon,’ he cried, […] ‘I shall die. […] I shall ascend my funeral pyre triumphantly, and exult in the agony of torturing flames’” (225).
...ow much information he discloses to his audience without overburdening them, by including an underlying message that is hidden within the metaphors and facts; comparing the size of the different hearts with familiar objects and therefore making them perceivable; and using his distinct poetic style and tone to evoke emotion from his audience. By emphasizing the factual and emotional evocative nature of his rhetoric strategy, and presenting it in a personal and eloquent manner, he seems to be able to successfully connect with his audience. Ultimately, the overall tone of the essay entices his readers to think and feel deeply along with the text, adding to its many noteworthy qualities.
Throughout the text of Milton’s Paradise Lost, we can see many instances of binary relationships connecting separate conceptual ideas. The construction of "authorship" in the poem exists as a good example of just such a relationship. This theme incorporates two very different ideas in the poem, and is central to the understanding of issues concerning the creation and use of power.
Living in a period of important religious and cultural flux, John Milton's poetry reflects the many influences he found both in history and in the contemporary world. With a vast knowledge of literature from the classical world of Greek and Roman culture, Milton often looked back to more ancient times as a means of enriching his works. At other times, however, he relies on his strong Christian beliefs for creating spiritually compelling themes and deeply religious imagery. Despite the seemingly conflicting nature of these two polarized sources of inspiration, Milton somehow found a way of bridging the gap between a pagan and a Christian world, often weaving them together into one overpowering story. The pastoral elegy Lycidas, written after the death of a fellow student at Cambridge, exemplifies this mastery over ancient and contemporary traditions in its transition from a pagan to a Christian context. Opening the poem in a setting rich with mythological figures and scenery, then deliberately moving into a distinctly Christian setting, Milton touches upon two personally relevant issues: poetry and Christian redemption. In this way, Lycidas both addresses the subject of being a poet in a life doomed by death and at the same time shows the triumphant glory of a Christian life, one in which even the demise of the poet himself holds brighter promises of eternal heavenly joy.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe. Prometheus Unbound. Shelley’s Poetry and Prose. Ed. Donald H. Reiman and Neil Fraistat. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2002. 206-283.
Grey, Thomas. “Elegy Written in a Church Courtyard.” The Norton Anthology Of Poetry. shorter fifth edition. Ferguson, Margaret W. , Mary Jo Salter, and Jon Stallworthy. New York, New York: W W Norton , 2005. 410-413. Print.
Karl Kroeber and Gene W. Ruoff. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1993. Percy Bysshe Shelley. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed.
the poem finds Milton in a tough spot: writing an epic poem without an epic hero in
“Solitude sometimes is best society” (Book IX, Line 249), a famous quote in John Milton’s 17th cen. epic poem Paradise Lost, summarizes a separation from Heaven which results in the fall of Lucifer, one of God’s fallen angels. The silent battle between God and Satan, the development of characters and the themes in the epic adds to a better overall understanding of the Milton 's poem. The work is one of literature’s most profound, giving its audience an exclusive look at fate, free will and morality. Paradise Lost contains many elements that consider it an “epic poem.” It is written in blank verse, in other words, the words do not rhyme. Milton often notes and expresses a lack of interest for rhyming poetry saying that “Rhyme is no necessary
Milton returned to England about 1641 when the political and religious affairs were very disturbing to many. He started to apply his work in practice for that one great work like Paradise Lost when penning the Sonnets. Not every sonnet is identical but they can be difficult in interpretation, styles, word use, and so forth. The purpose of this paper is to analyze Milton’s Sonnet 8 (ca 1642), “Captain or Colonel.” This will be done by explaining the type of theme and then separating the sonnet into three sections: lines 1-4, 5-8, and 9-14 for a better understanding of how Milton used the development of ongoing events to present problems with a mystical resolution.
In "Lycidas" Milton speaks through many voices. From Greek Gods to Biblical figures, Milton shields his voice and personifies these figures who address the subject of death in a less worldly language. This method of writing not only demonstrates Milton's broad education, it also serves to lighten a heavy subject. Shielded by Mythology and motivated by the optimism of Christianity, one can approach the subject of mortality with hope and give meaning to life. Without hope this subject would most likely force the reader to spiral down into deep despair.
The regularity with which Milton frequently conforms to principles of epic structure make his occasional (but nevertheless fundamental) variations on the epic tradition all the more striking by contrast. The most important departures from epic decorum--the rejection of a martial theme, and the choice of an argument that emphasizes the hero's transgression and defeat instead of celebrating his virtues and triumphs--are paradoxically conditioned by concern for the ethical and religious decorum of the epic genre. On the whole, Milton has retained the formal motifs and devices of the heroic poem but has invested them with Christian matter and meaning. In this sense his epic is . . . something of a "pseudomorph"--retaining the form of classical epic but replacing its values and contents with Judeo-Christian correlatives. (Epic and Tragic Structure . . . 20)
In conclusion, Paradise Lost can be seen through a historically contextual lens that allows us to see the parallels between Milton’s life and experiences during the reign of Charles I, and the predominant themes in his epic poem. Many of the themes in Paradise Lost, from the broader situational occurrences to the behavior of individual character’s and their attitudes toward the situations in which they find themselves can be seen as directly influenced by Milton’s time as a Parliamentarian in 17th century England.