The epic of the fall of man; a comparative study of Caedmon, Dante and Milton . Against their righteous King, for taking thus Grim retribution on His fallen foes ; And in fierce raging mood each rebel sware To wrest the Kingdom from Almighty God. But when the Archangels Sovereign high upreared His mighty arm against that traitor band, Their haughty boast deceived them, for the King Sent terror in their hearts, and prone they fell Powerless to fight. For in His wrath He bent Their vengeful pride, stripped them of might and state And hoped-for triumph. Then as abject thralls, Joyless and shorn o
The epic of the fall of man; a comparative study of Caedmon, Dante and Milton . Against their righteous King, for taking thus Grim retribution on His fallen foes ; And in fierce raging mood each rebel sware To wrest the Kingdom from Almighty God. But when the Archangels Sovereign high upreared His mighty arm against that traitor band, Their haughty boast deceived them, for the King Sent terror in their hearts, and prone they fell Powerless to fight. For in His wrath He bent Their vengeful pride, stripped them of might and state And hoped-for triumph. Then as abject thralls, Joyless and shorn of Heavens effulgent crown, They stood examples of presumptuous pride. In purpose stern and with relentless hand The Almighty strongly grasped and might have crushed And utterly destroyed His foe. In lieu He seized the realms and stately palaces Their hands had reared, and from His Kingdom hurled The faithless tribe and sent them wailing forth Down the dark, steep, unutterable path That leads to Hell. No longer might be heard The scornful vaunt ; for now their grandeur turned. ?v- ~ ? 2 ? =; VJ tt ?i ^ -S -^ c^ ^ K A Comparative Study i 5 i To deepest infamy, their beauteous forms By sin defaced, tliey urged their darksome way To darker punishment. In torments dire Accursed they dwelt. No longer did they raise The loud derisive laugh ; for ceaseless woe, Deep racking pain, grief unassuagal)le And hydra-headed torture, all around. Enthroned in blackest darkness, mocked their cries ; Just retribution for the unholy war They thought to wage against Almighty God. In Paradise Lost, Milton passes by these prelimi-nary events in his Prologue, and plunges in medias res,depicting his hero, together with his confederates,as lying in the burning lake thunderstruck andastonished after their fall from the Empyrean ; andhe reserves all of this part of the narrative, viz., theincipiency of the rebellion in Heaven and the ex-pulsion of the rebel hosts, to bo related in full byRaphael, later on
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade18, booksubjectdantealighieri12651321
