Selected Poems

by John Milton

Overview

Best known as the author of the epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton (1608–74) was also an accomplished writer of shorter verse forms. This treasury presents twenty of the best of these works: "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity," "On Shakespeare," "L'Allegro," "Il Penseroso," "Comus, A Mask," "Lycidas," "On the Late Massacre in Piedmont," "On His Blindness," "On His Deceased Wife," "Samson Agonistes," and more.
In this carefully chosen selection, readers will discover the wide erudition, mastery of meter and rhythm, and superb artistic control that have earned Milton a preeminent place in English literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780486159577
Publisher:	Dover Publications
Publication date:	12/14/2015
Series:	Dover Thrift Editions: Poetry
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

One of the greatest of English poets, John Milton (1608–74) is best known for his immortal epic, Paradise Lost. A prolific pamphleteer and polemicist, he is also a giant in the history of political thought and philosophy who opposed state-sponsored religion and championed liberty of conscience.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

On the Death of a Fair Infant Dying of a Cough

I

O fairest Flower, no sooner blown but blasted,
II

For since grim Aquilo, his charioter,
III

So, mounting up in icy-pearled car,
IV

Yet thou art not inglorious in thy fate;
V

Yet can I not persuade me thou art dead,
VI

Resolve me, then, O Soul most surely blest
VII

Wert thou some Star, which from the ruined roof Of shaked Olympus by mischance didst fall;
VIII

Or wert thou that just Maid who once before Forsook the hated earth, oh! tell me sooth,
IX

Or wert thou of the golden-winged host,
X

But oh! why didst thou not stay here below To bless us with thy heaven-loved innocence,
XI

Then thou, the mother of so sweet a child,
On the Morning of Christ's Nativity

I

This is the month, and this the happy morn,
II

That glorious Form, that Light unsufferable,
III

Say, Heavenly Muse, shall not thy sacred vein Afford a present to the Infant God?
IV

See how from far upon the Eastern road The star-led Wisards haste with odours sweet!
The Hymn

I

    It was the winter wild,
II

      Only with speeches fair
III

    But he, her fears to cease,
IV

      No war, or battails sound,
V

        But peaceful was the night
VI

      The stars, with deep amaze,
VII

      And, though the shady gloom
VIII

    The Shepherds on the lawn,
IX

    When such music sweet
X

    Nature, that heard such sound
XI

    At last surrounds their sight
XII

    Such music (as 'tis said)
XIII

    Ring out, ye crystal spheres!
XIV

    For, if such holy song
XV

    Yes, Truth and Justice then
XVI

    But wisest Fate says No,
XVII

    With such a horrid clang
XVIII

    And then at last our bliss
XIX

    The Oracles are dumb;
XX

    The lonely mountains o'er,
XXI

    In consecrated earth,
XXII

    Peor and Baalim
XXIII

    And sullen Moloch, fled,
XXIV

    Nor is Osiris seen
XXV

    He feels from Judas land
XXVI

    So, when the Sun in bed,
XXVII

    But see! the Virgin blest
Song on May Morning

Now the bright morning-star, Days harbinger,
Sonnet to the Nightingale

O Nightingale that on yon blooming spray Warblest at eve, when all the woods are still,
On Shakespeare

What needs my Shakespeare, for his honoured bones,
On His Being Arrived to the Age of Twenty-Three

How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth,
(Continues…)

---

Excerpted from "Selected Poems"
by .
Copyright © 1993 Dover Publications, Inc..
Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

On the Death of a Fair Infant Dying of a Cough (1626), 1,
On the Morning of Christ's Nativity (1629), 4,
Song on May Morning (ca. 1630), 13,
Sonnet to the Nightingale (ca. 1630), 13,
On Shakespeare (1630), 14,
On His Being Arrived to the Age of Twenty-Three (1631), 14,
Arcades(ca. 1632), 15,
At a Solemn Music (ca. 1632), 18,
L'Allegro (ca. 1632), 19,
Il Penseroso (ca. 1632), 23,
Comus: A Mask (1634), 28,
Lycidas (1637), 56,
When the Assault Was Intended to the City (1642), 61,
On the Same (1645), 62,
On the Lord General Fairfax at the Siege of Colchester (1648), 62,
To the Lord General Cromwell, on the Proposals of Certain Ministers at the Committee for the Propagation of the Gospel (1652), 63,
On His Blindness (ca. 1652–1655), 64,
On the Late Massacre in Piemont (1655), 64,
On His Deceased Wife (1658), 65,
Samson Agonistes (?; published 1671), 65,
Alphabetical List of Titles, 111,
Alphabetical List of First Lines, 113,