Milton: A Poem in Two Books
Milton is an
Blake's Milton was printed in his characteristic combination of etched text and illustration supplemented by watercolour.[4]
Preface
The preface to Milton includes the poem "And did those feet in ancient time", which was set to music as the hymn called "Jerusalem". The poem appears after a prose attack on the influence of Greek and Roman culture, which is unfavourably contrasted with "the Sublime of the Bible".
Text
The poem is divided into two "books".
Book I opens with an epic invocation to the muses, drawing on the classical models of Homer and Virgil, which were also used by John Milton in Paradise Lost. However, Blake describes inspiration in bodily terms, vitalising the nerves of his arm. Blake goes on to describe the activities of Los, one of his mythological characters, who creates a complex universe from within which other Blakean characters debate the actions of Satan. As with all of Blake's Prophecies, the general structure of the Poem begins with the Fall and ends with the Apocalypse or consummation. The fall is pictured vividly as each of the five senses plummets into an abyss; each "broods" there in fear and desperation. These represent an early fallen Age in Blake's Mythological construct.
The early pages are dominated by a "Bard's Prophetic Song", heard in Heaven by the "unfallen" Milton. The relationship The Bard's Song has with the rest of the text is in dispute, and the meaning of it is complex. Referring to the doctrines of
Milton travels to Lambeth, taking in the form of a falling comet, and enters Blake's foot,[5] the foot here representing the point of contact between the human body and the exterior "vegetative world". Thus the ordinary world as perceived by the five senses is a sandal formed of "precious stones and gold" that he can now wear. Blake ties the sandal and, guided by Los, walks with it into the City of Art, inspired by the spirit of poetic creativity.
Book II finds Blake in the garden of his cottage, now
The poem concludes with a vision of a final union of living and dead, internal and external reality, and male and female, and a transformation of all of human perception.
Ololon: Blake studied Hebrew. He incorporated Hebrew twice in Milton and coined the name "Ololon" out of a Hebrew word.[6]
Book and chapter length commentary
The following books, chapters, and other works, are commentaries and critiques pertaining to this poem: [7]
Book
- Bracher, Mark (1985). Being Form'd: Thinking Through Blake's "Milton" (1st ed.). Station Hill Press. ISBN 0882680137.
- Eaves, Morris (2006). Eaves, Morris (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to William Blake. Cambridge Companions to Literature and Classics. ISBN 9780511999130.
- Esterhammer, Angela (2005). Esterhammer, Angela (ed.). Northrop Frye on Milton and Blake. JSTOR 10.3138/9781442677821.
- Fox, Susan (1976). Poetic Form in Blake's 'Milton'. Princeton Legacy Library. JSTOR j.ctt13x0wnz. (reprinted 2016)
- Freed, Eugenie (1994). "A Portion of His Life" William Blake's Miltonic Vision of Woman. Lewisburg PA: Bucknell University Press. London: Associated University Presses. ISBN 0838752659.
- Howard, John (1976). Blake's Milton: A Study in Selfhood. OCLC 902557431.
- James, David E. (1978). Written Within and Without: A Study of Blake's 'Milton'. OCLC 123201532.
- Shiff, Abraham Samuel (2019). William Blake's Hebrew in Milton and Ololon: Deciphering Blake's Hebrew Puns. Liongrass Editions. ISBN 978-1-7337090-0-2.
Chapter
- JSTOR j.ctt2jc88p. Free PDF download.
Theses
- Withers, Stacie F. (1978) Blake's Milton: a critical introduction and a commentary. Masters thesis, Durham University. Free PDF download.
References
- JSTOR 24392028.
- JSTOR 3195140.
- JSTOR 433219.
- ^ Analysis. "William Blake's 'Milton'". British Library. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
The artist and poet William Blake (1757–1827) was moved, provoked and inspired by the poetry of John Milton
- ^ "William Blake's Milton: The "Grandest Poem" Ever Written". Treasures of the New York Public Library. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ Shiff, Abraham Samuel. William Blake's Hebrew in Milton and Ololon: Deciphering Blake's Hebrew Puns (Liongrass Editions, 2019).
- JSTOR 24392028.)
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External links
- Text and images from Milton: a Poem at the Blake Archive
- Milton: a Poem public domain audiobook at LibriVox
- The William Blake Archive
- ISBN 978-0-500-28245-8.