Milton and the tangles of Neaera's hair : the making of the 1645 Poems /

Milton's first volume of poetry, Poems is actually a double book containing two title pages. The first "book" includes 22 English and six Italian poems, the second 24 Latin and two Greek. Scholars have traditionally focused on the English poems, especially on the three that signal Milton's approaching greatness: "On the morning of Christ's Nativity," "Lycidas," and "Comus," with an occasional bow to "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso." Revard (Southern Illinois Univ.) concentrates on the Latin poems, which speak "more intimately" of the poet's intentions. Revard believes that Milton intended the two parts to complement each other and that joint consideration is essential for a full understanding. For example, "Lycidas" and "Epitaphium Damonis" are both pastoral laments, but in the Latin poem the poet "pours his heart out." It thus complements the more formal strains of "Lycidas." Also, Milton's trip to Italy reinforced his interest in Renaissance neo-Latin poetry as well as classical Latin verse (the "Neaera" of the title is not only one of the sensual temptations noted in "Lycidas," but also the name that many prominent neo-Latin poets chose for their mistresses). Revard shows that Milton was expert not only in the classical Latin poetic forms but also in the parallel Renaissance neo-Latin forms of his near contemporaries. Even as Milton proclaims his English voice and poetic ambitions, Revard demonstrates Milton's debt to the imitative Latinity of the Continental Renaissance. Graduate and research collections in English and Latin literature. D. S. Gochberg; Michigan State University