What struck me most while reading Paradise Lost was the imagery. It's everywhere! And considering that John Milton went blind and was dictating his writing to scribes and managed to write this beautiful, complex, and vivid work of art is crazy to me. I can’t even describe my own head of hair without sounding awful and yet Milton is describing amazing things that he’s never even seen when he wasn’t blind! (At least I’m assuming he’s never seen hell…)
I think he definitely appreciated the beauty in life, even when he couldn’t see it, and even though he was a huge grump. I think that’s what I like about Milton the most. I love the idea of him being so in awe of our world and finding just the right words to describe it.
I completely agree! The fact that Milton composed the Paradise Lost entirely by voice is quite amazing, but even more amazing is that he was able to use such vivid imagery! The imagery was something I particularity enjoyed about Paradise Lost. I could literally see the scene play out while reading the written word. I think more poets and writers need to take a play from Milton's playbook and use more imagery in their pieces.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that "Paradise Lost" was beautiful, and I can't help but think maybe his blindness helped create this idea of hell. I think it was amazing that Milton was able to put these images into the poem, but I also think he wasn't stuck with generic images. His blindness gave him an opportunity to describe Hell as only he could see it, not what the rest of the world typically sees.
ReplyDeleteI could easily get lost in Milton. And did. Frequently. For days. It was great.
ReplyDeleteYes!!!! I completely agree. He could describe a perfect scene to a blind man. He would make it sound more beautiful than it actually was. I got lost in it more before I could appreciate it.
ReplyDelete