ODE TO MILTON

Milton's statue at Westminster Abbey

Milton's statue at St. Giles Church, Cripplegate.

                                    

1)          Thou, brightest star of English firmament!

             Thy quill enriched the Albion’s tongue

             Another Homer on this island sprung;

             Freedom through thy dauntless voice found vent

             Alone you struggled like an African lion

             None dared to enter thy dominion.

2)          Immersed in classics right from schooling time

             You mastered the Greek and Roman authors great

             So soon you did attain their sublime state;

             Thy Latin odes showed perfect rhythm and rhyme

             A cynosure to all well-versed in so many tongues

             An Aeolian lyre with many melodies strung.

3)         Thy youthful days at college did not bear

             Rigid religious rules by prelates bound;

             Protested thou with thy writings profound

             Selfish intercession you could not care;

             You parted ways from chosen priestly line

             With strict obedience to forces divine.

4)        Thy poetic heart in melancholy found

           Serene Contemplation and contentment

           In moon-lit seclusion, in night-bird’s sound

           Watching buskined stage with noble content;

           In Arcadian songs praising the rural queen

           A glowing tribute with pastoral scene.

5)       Sweet feelings blent with sweet lyrical verse

          Composed by thee in colorful masque form;

          The cup of vile pleasures with tempting charm

          To cheat the chaste virgin by cunning Comus

          Rescued by brothers and god’s justice upright

          A fitting tribute to virtue and moral sprite.

6)       Of normal height with light brown luxuriant hair

          Grown up to shoulders with smooth silky touch

          Other students’ notice attracted much;

          Famed as Lady of Christ’s College; Your fair

          Countenance blushed though none could ever see

          Thy heroic heart that yearned to be honest and free.

7)       Thy trips abroad provided a chance rare

           To meet the Tuscan scientist confined and blind;

           In Florence, Rome and Paris you did find

           Artists who praised thy skills and views did share;

           The simmering civil conflict upset thy heart

           Returned thou to England to take an active part.

8)        In pastoral vein you did bemoan the death

           Of Edward King and the poets’ thankless toil

           Of selfish prelates who wantonly spoil

           Their sheep misleading them to their death;

           True fame one earns by virtues from God above

           True virtue wends to newer realms of Love.

9)       Thy simple Puritan life did not suit

          Thy young Royalist spouse who left thy abode

          You never strayed from thy strict moral code;

          Justifying divorce, old rules you did refute

          Your forgiving nature let her soon return

          Along with her family to sojourn.

10)      Oppressive powers of kings you did censure

           Defending nation’s freedom in your tracts;

           Equally you condemned the flattering acts

           Of priests who crave for wealth and pleasures impure;

           Your vast store of knowledge stood in good stead

           For Commonwealth to run with no sense of dread.

11)      Thy incessant studies deprived thy sight

            Exposed to royal wrath with your life at risk;

            Yet still you lost no faith, composed epics

            Upholding your strong views with inner light

            Dictating lines to your daughters and friends

            In writing noble works time you did spend.

12)       Pondering over many legends and themes

            You chose the loss of Paradise and Adam’s fall

            Man’s disobedience to God’s warning call

            Yielding to Satan, he lost his powers supreme;

            Along with Eve cast out from garden of bliss

            Direct communion with God he did miss.

13)       Like a skilled architect with wisdom and care

            An epic unique you wrote with inner vision

            Justifying God’s fairness and His mission;

            Like rushing Oxus or Nile your lines declare

            A noble theme well matched with noble style

            Enriched with imagination versatile.

14)       Thy passion for freedom and for free will

             Seen in rebel angels with perverted intent;

             Lucifer, the arch-angel enviously spent

             His noble strength to become a devil

             Making other rebels suffer in fiery hell

             Like storm-driven dry leaves they fell.

15)        The heathen gods in vile degraded state

             As Satan’s rebel army thrown in hell

             For their bloodthirsty rituals and rites fell;

             Cruel Moloch, Baal and Belial met their fate

             Chemosh, Dagon, Mammon and Beelzebub strong

             Just punishment thy got for doing wrong.

16)        The loose tottering verse of Jacobean plays

             Strengthened by Thee with regular majestic pace

             With varying pauses linked in harmonious ways

             Adding charm with rich imagery and grace;

             A noble epic surpassing the Hellenic song

             Divine Dante’s and Virgil’s heroics long.

17)        Urged by thy friend another epic you wrote

             A fitting sequel to Paradise Lost;

             Of Christ’s conquest of Satan in the desert vast

             In majestic style with didactic note;

             This song supreme you valued as the best

             These two crown jewels show thy devotion and zest.

18)        Oppressed by adverse conditions and fate

              Deserted by thy daughters, helpless and blind

              In poetic effusions solace you did find;

              Reflected in Samson’s miserable state

              Like Thee, he trusted in God’s grace and got

              Lost strength and killed his foes with heroic heart.

19)        Though many strove to scale thy level sublime

             None touched thy epic grandeur’s style and flow

             Like grand cathedrals your works shine and glow;

             Thy voice like ocean echoes through every clime

             Like shining Hesperus shining ethereal bright

             With wondrous surprise we view thy heavenly light.

20)        You never compromised your ideals for gold

             You worked for a noble cause with support divine

             You spouse and admirers helped thee sustain;

             Your goal you did attain with conscience bold

             A noble dedication thy works to English muse

             Embellished with classic allusions profuse.

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Reference :

 1)  Albion --- literary term for “Britain” or “England”.

  2)  Aeolian harp --- A stringed musical instrument which vibrates
       when wind passes over it. Here it represents Milton’s command 
       over many languages.

 3)  Cynosure --- the bright northern star (center of attraction).

 4)  Prelates ----- Bishops and other higher religious authorities.

5)  Intercession ---- priest praying to a deity on behalf of others to               

     absolve their sins.

6)  Night-bird ---- nightingale which sings at night time.

7)  Buskined stage--tragic plays. The actors used to wear high boots
     made of leather to show their heroic stature.

8)  Arcadian song ---- A pastoral masque written by Milton in 1634
     to honor the Countess Dowager of Darby during her 75th birthday
     at Harefield.

9)  Rural queen --- The countess Alice Spencer was shown as the
     queen of the pastoral kingdom.

10) Masque--a festive courtly entertainment with music, rich scenery
      and dance

11)  Comus --- A Greek god of festivity and revels. Milton showed
       him as a person who represents sexual pleasure and
       intemperance.

12)  Tuscan scientist --- Galileo whom Milton met in Italy in 1639.

13)  Pastoral vein --- ideal life related to shepherds and country scenes.

14) Edward King ---- (1613—1637)--- friend of Milton at Cambridge. 

      He was drowned when his ship struck on a rock near the
      Welsh coast and he was drowned.

15  Royalist spouse --- Mary Powell, Milton’s first wife, whose family
      supported the king’s party.

16) Justifying Divorce ----  Soon after his first wife left him, Milton 

       wrote four pamphlets justifying divorce :  “The Doctrine and  

       Discipline of  Divorce", “The Judgment of Martin Bucer”,

      "Tetrachordon"and "Colasterion" between 1643 and 1645.

17  Rushing Oxus --a river (now called “Amu Darya” that flows           

      through Central Asian countries like Uzebekistan, Turkmenistan 
      and Tajikistan.

18)  Nile – a major river that flows through northeastern Africa.

19)  Moloch --- the chief God of Ammonites.

20)  Baul --- the god of Philistines.

21)  Belial --- a wicked demon

22)  Chemosh --- god of the Moabites

23)   Dagon --- God of Philistines

24)   Mammon --- Heathen God of wealth and material prosperity.

25)   Beelzebub --- God of Philistines.

26)   Hellenic song --- Grecian epics "Iliad" and "Odyssey" by Homer.

27)  Divine Dante - an Italian poet and moral philosopher

       (1265-1321) Well-known for his epic poem "Divine Comedy”.

28)  Virgil --a famous Roman poet (70 B.C. – 19 B.C.) who wrote the 
        the epic poem "Aeneid". heroics -- heroic verse used in epics.

             

29)  Hesperus ----  the evening star “Venus”

30) Rites and rituals fell -- vicious and cruel ceremonies.

31) Loose tottering verse--the dramatists of this period (1603-1625)
      used blank verse in a loose and irregular way. Milton made it a
      fit medium for his noble epic.

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        26th May, 2019                                 Somaseshu Gutala