Author Information
On First Looking Into John Milton's Epic Poem, *Paradise Lost*
When I first looked into Paradise Lost,
I was amazed by classical allusions---
scattered about the poem in rank profusion's
largesse right up to the serene conclusion's
poignant last words. These added deep dimension
(despite that uncouth scoffer's crude contention)
to Milton's style of epic poetry:
Homer, Vergil, Horace, and (I think) Statius
are mentioned in those lines, leisured and spacious,
unbounded by cosmology or time.
Not to display merely Milton's vast knowledge,
these poets form a constellated college
to which Milton has entered with sublime
and stellar verse that never needs to rhyme.
Starward
