Literature Network » Homer

Milton's missing rhymes. (poet John Milton)

Content courtesy of

From: Style
Date: 19940622
Author:McCauley, Lawrence H.

In his prefatory note on "The Verse," attached to the second edition of Paradise Lost, Milton first explains "why the Poem Rimes not" by an appeal to cultural authority, aligning himself with a Classical and epic tradition--"that of Homer in Greek and of Virgil in Latin"--with "some both Italian and Spanish Poets of prime note," and with "our best English Tragedies." Eventually, though, the force of his explanation is to justify his poetic ways by invoking a higher authority. When he decries "the jingling sound of like endings" as "trivial and of no true musical delight" (my ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Homer

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.