The epic of the fall of man; a comparative study of Caedmon, Dante and Milton . ase is of courseunthinkable),—divided into two concaves, Heavenor the Empyrean and Chaos or the Abyss. The upper of these concaves of primeval space isto be imagined as a boundless region of Light, Joyand Glory, in the midst of which, the Deity, thoughomnipresent, has His visible dwelling. Here, He isthe Chieftain of an infinitude of intelligences calledthe Angels, who, though dispersed throughout theranges of Heavens boundless domain, yet lead,severally, their mighty lives, performing the behestsof Deity, or lost
The epic of the fall of man; a comparative study of Caedmon, Dante and Milton . ase is of courseunthinkable),—divided into two concaves, Heavenor the Empyrean and Chaos or the Abyss. The upper of these concaves of primeval space isto be imagined as a boundless region of Light, Joyand Glory, in the midst of which, the Deity, thoughomnipresent, has His visible dwelling. Here, He isthe Chieftain of an infinitude of intelligences calledthe Angels, who, though dispersed throughout theranges of Heavens boundless domain, yet lead,severally, their mighty lives, performing the behestsof Deity, or lost in the abandonment of adoration. The other half or concave of primeval space. Chaosor the Abyss, is a limitless ocean of universal dark- lOO Epic of the Fall ness, uselessness, and Hfelessness, wherein the primalelements battle unceasingly in blustering confusion ;no Angel having ever winged his way down into itsrepulsive obscurities. The opal floor of the Empy-rean divides the two concaves ; while beneath,unvisited of Light, Chaos howls and rages and stag-nates Before we proceed farther, however, in this analy-sis it may be well to emphasise one most importantpoint in the elucidation of the poem, viz.: that thedescriptions and illustrative diagrams which may beintroduced in this analysis are not mere fancies ofwhat Caedmon Diay have conceived in his scheme ofthe poem, but are actually what he must have had,and did have, in his mind when he began to write Analysis of Caetlmons Fall of Man loi his version of the * Fall of Man, and which lie mosttenaciously kept in view from first to Last. That such is the case may be conclusively provedfrom the words of the poem itself; and often fromthe illuminations of the manuscript, which may betaken as a tenth-century commentary on the originaltext, by the artist of the Scriptorium, in which themanuscript was written. In order to bring out this point in the clearest pos-sible light, it will be necessary to adduce, in confirma-
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade18, booksubjectdantealighieri12651321
