. A short history of England's and America's literature, by Eva March Tappan. ces, that of Donnewas by far the strongest. 70. John Milton, 1608-1674. Of the poets whowrote between 1625 and 1660, John Milton stands forthe poetry of medita-tion. He was born in1608, the son of awealthy Londoner. Thefather was anxious thathis son should devotehimself to literature;and when he saw howperfectly the boyswishes harmonized withhis own, he left him ab-solutely free to followhis own will. Less free-dom in some respects J°HN miltonmight have been bet- 160 1674ter; for this boy of twelve with weak eyes and
. A short history of England's and America's literature, by Eva March Tappan. ces, that of Donnewas by far the strongest. 70. John Milton, 1608-1674. Of the poets whowrote between 1625 and 1660, John Milton stands forthe poetry of medita-tion. He was born in1608, the son of awealthy Londoner. Thefather was anxious thathis son should devotehimself to literature;and when he saw howperfectly the boyswishes harmonized withhis own, he left him ab-solutely free to followhis own will. Less free-dom in some respects J°HN miltonmight have been bet- 160 1674ter; for this boy of twelve with weak eyes and frequentheadaches went to school daily, had also tutors at home,and made it his regular practice to study until entered Cambridge at sixteen, not the ideal book-worm by any means, for he was so beautiful that he wasnicknamed the Lady of Christs College. While Milton was still a student, he wrote his Hymnon the Morning of Christs Nativity, a most exquisiteChristmas poem. The stanzas are perfect wherein hislearning serves only for adornment and his mind is full. 120 ENGLANDS LITERATURE [1629-1638 of the thought of the Christ Child; but some of thoseHymn on toward the end of the poem, which are a littletheMorning weighed down by his learning, have less This poem, one of Miltons earliest as it was,1629. hag a kjnc[ of unearthly sweetness of melodyand clearness of vision. It seems to have come fromanother world; to have been written in a finer, rareratmosphere. The feeling deepens on reading VAllegro,II Penseroso, the masque Comus, and Lycidas, all com-posed within six years after Milton left the universityand while he was devoting himself to music and study athis fathers country home. He was only twenty-ninewhen the last of these poems was written. The first two,whose titles may be translated The Cheerful Man and The Thoughtful Man, are descriptions, not of nature,but of the way nature affects the poet when he is in dif-ferent moods. It is interesting
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