Evidence: | [Marginalia in Keats' annotated copy of "Paradise Lost"]: 'The Genius of Milton, more particularly in respect to its span in immensity, calculated him, by a sort of birthright, for such an "argument" as the paradise lost: he had an exquisite passion for what is properly, in the sense of ease and pleasure, poetical Luxury; and with that it appears to me he would fain have been content, if he could, so doing, have preserved his self-respect and feel of duty performed; but there was working in him as it were that same sort of thing as operates in the great world to the end of a Prophecy's being accomplished: therefore he devoted himself rather to the Ardours thean the pleasures of Song, solacing himself at intervals with cups of old wine; and those are with some exceptions the finest parts of the Poem. With some exceptions - for the spirit of mounting and adventure can never be unfruitful or unrewarded: had he not broken through the clouds which envellope [sic] so deliciously the Elysian fields of Verse, and committed himself to the Extreme, we should never have seen Satan as described - But his face/ Deep Scars of thunder had entrench'd etc.' |
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Century: | 1800-1849 | ||||||||||
Date: | unknown | ||||||||||
Country: | unknown | ||||||||||
Time: | n/a | ||||||||||
Place: | n/a | ||||||||||
Type of Experience (Reader): |
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Type of Experience (Listener): |
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Reader: | John Keats |
Age | Unknown |
Gender | Male |
Date of Birth | 31 Oct 1795 |
Socio-economic group: | n/a |
Occupation: | poet |
Religion: | atheist |
Country of origin: | England |
Country of experience: | unknown |
Listeners present if any: (e.g. family, servants,
friends, workmates) |
n/a |
Additional comments: | n/a |
Author: | John Milton |
Title: | Paradise Lost |
Genre: | Poetry |
Form of Text: | Print: Book |
Publication details: | n/a |
Provenance: | owned |
Record ID: | 17367 | |
Source - | ||
Author: | John Keats | |
Editor: | John Barnard | |
Title: | John Keats: The Complete Poems | |
Place of Publication: | London | |
Date of Publication: | 1988 | |
Vol: | n/a | |
Page: | 517 | |
Additional comments: | The marginalia is transcribed in Appendix 4 of this edition. |
Citation: | John Keats, John Barnard (ed.), John Keats: The Complete Poems (London, 1988), p. 517, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/reading/recorddetails2.php?id=17367, accessed: 24 April 2024 |
Reading Experience Database version 2.0. Page updated: 27th Apr 2016 3:15pm (GMT)