Day Nine

Lecture: The Poems of John Milton
Authored by: Ernest Bernbaum, Instructor of English at Harvard University

This lecture delves into some of the misunderstandings and apprehensions held by readers about Milton's Paradise Lost. Bernbaum assures the reader that the obstacles to appreciating and understanding Milton are not insurmountable.

One suggestion is to read the Bible passages that Milton drew on for his themes and see how large the chasm is between Milton's writing and the Bible, thus highlighting his creative contributions. Another suggestion is to read Paradise Lost aloud: "Only thus can teh artistic sense that slumbers within us be aroused to feel responsively that grandest rhythm and resonance that ever proceeded from an English tongue.

Bernbaum explains that the theme of Paradise Lost is not about Satan and God but of humanity (a common mistake made by readers). Milton believes in free will - a force that gives a human both a gift and a hindrance (the ability to make a decision but also have to live with it).

I think this will be handy to have around when we get to Paradise Lost in Volume IV.

Other important Milton works are: Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and the Nativity Ode.

Lecture: The English Anthology
Authored by: Carleton Noyes, Instructor in English at Harvard University

We are lucky to have Noyes return in this lecture after providing us with an earlier introductory lecture on poetry. After reading this new lecture, I am left with motivation and inspiration to enjoy poetry more than I have in the past. Noyes spurs the reader to allow poetry to connect deep within and teach us how to better appreciate our own experiences in life. He throws out some really great quotes; to recount them all would be an arduous task. Here is a highlight:

"To see the world poetically is itself a kind of success...The revelation which poetry affords carries us beyond the enjoyment of the instant; as it leads us out into a more beautiful world, it brings us deeper into the true significance of things, and so it widens our spiritual horizon. As we see father and feel more intensely, we are enabled more amply to understand the meaning of our own life in its relation to the whole."

Such beautiful words; such an idyllic thought. I look forward to reading the upcoming poetry volumes. I'm ready to give poetry another shot.

Noyes provides some definitions of types of poetry. An idyl (or idyll) is a small lyrical poem about nature. An epigram is an intellectual and satirical/witty poem. An elegy is a poem about sadness. An pastoral is a longer idyll.