MiltonSeminarJ12008

Milton tries very hard to connect to his readers.  He also tries to form them into his own ideal audience; desiring for them to mirror his own abilities.  Milton was not as successful in his endeavors as he would have liked during his lifetime, though in future generations he achieved his aim. Perhaps it is as Jesus said (very loosely quoted) that a prophet in his own town will recieve no respect. This would make sense in that Milton feels that he is a prophet. It seems that Milton had given up on his readers and turned to Latin. 

 It was interesting to see that after his work in Latin was received well in Europe, interest in his work increased.

       Initially when reading Milton’s “The Reason of Church-Government”, I was able to see where he felt that God had given him a gift that he should use for the betterment of his country; whether, protecting the people from the oppressive church, or protecting the Church from it’s enemies (51-52). This argument made sense, as Milton is a gifted writer. However, I became disappointed with him when he began to expound upon his own qualities, rather than the issue at hand. It was as if he was trying to be self-effacing, but not truly meaning it. It was a relief when he returned to his argument, when it appeared he claimed the Church was holding England back from progression. Milton , at the end of his pamphlet, seems to be trying to convince himself and others that he had the right to write this tract.

I enjoyed “An Apology for Smectymnuus” more than “The Reason of Church-Government. I felt Milton did not stray as much from his purpose in this tract. He seemed to feel very strongly that one should not write poetry if one’s life did not reflect its morals (62). It is here too, that he presses the importance of virginity. Perhaps, it is at this point he makes known ” what a noble vertue chastity sure must be, to the defense of which so many worthies by such a deare adventure of themselves had sworne.”(63) In other words Virgins have special defences, or powers.  He finishes by saying his Christian training has prepared him to be a poet, and that his marriage does not count as defilement because it was bound by God.

I had a difficult time initially with Milton’s prose; in fact, I wondered if he ever took a breath. However, in reading the CC it became clear that this type of writing was the preferred method of the day.

I found it interesting that Milton chose to not use ”classicism” when writing  prose (88), Instead choosing similes, metaphor and biblical images (90). Perhaps in this way Milton was able to make his ideas more readily available to the less learned. It would be important to have the support of the working class if there was to be any change in the Church or State.

I would also agree that Milton’s less “dramatic” prose of his later years is indicative of his maturation. It also signifies that he realized that variuos topics require differing textual approaches.

The question posed to us in class was”What do you do with ambition, if life can end at any time?”, or put another way “What do you do if you devote yourself to careful planning, and the future never arrives?”

    Milton had these very questions thrust upon him when his good friend Edward King is killed unexpectedly, and somewhat freakishly in a drowning accident on calm seas. He voices his frustrations and pain in a monody for his friend.

      Milton is in pain as is evident with the strident opening lines, of “I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude, with forced fingers rude,..”(3-4). Milton must find his writing to be cathartic because by the end of his monody he has come to terms with King’s death as is evident in his writing of flowers of praise in lines 140-151.

   Milton questions the importance of fame in lines 70-84. He wonders why do we work so hard for rewards that may or may not come, then to have everything snatched away in a moment. Milton is soothed somewhat with the knowledge that praise will not die, it will continue on in the hearts and minds of those who knew us. The reasoning being that fame is not mortal, nor man made, in as much as it can be destroyed by death or fire. fame is eternal; therefore, King’s memory and accomplishments will outlive all of them. Milton clings to his beliefs that King will be with his Lord, as he puts forth in lines 172-173

     My question with this monody is: is it at this time that Milton decides that he will not enter into the ministry? He is questioning his ideals of life and accomplishments, does he use his friends death to face his disillusionment with the church, and thus solidify his choice to become a poet?

        Milton is railing against the churches in lines 115-131. He is angry with their hypocrisy, or as Jesus said (roughly quoted)” they are as white-washed tombs”, religious on the outside, but dead within. They refuse to feed the people, but are eager with that “two-handed engine” to strike them down. In other words, Milton felt that the Church was using religion to kill the people’s souls not to give them life.

An interesting idea that follows in the religion vein, is one that Lawrence Lipking brings up. He feels that in line 163 Milton is urging people to look  not to where Lycidas drowned, but to his destination, Ireland. He believes that Milton felt there was more of a threat from the pagans in Ireland than from Spain and the Catholic church.

      I found it interesting that the content of A Masque,would in today’s world be considered inflammatory; if the parts were played by children. However, in Milton’s day the message was a moral lesson that went deeper than the surface of the attempted rape. The issue wasn’t the seduction , it was the overcoming of temptation. The Masque itself, was a homage to the Grandmother for her bringing the children into her home and teaching them how to make the right choices.

     Milton’s use of symbolic meanings would have been known to his audience. However, unless one is informed as to Milton’s ideals, and those of his audience, these symbols are largely meaningless to today’s reader.