Chapter 4 is titled What it’s Like to Read L’Allegro and Il Penseroso. I had not read
these poems so I found them on line and read them before I read the
chapter. If you have not read the poems,
I would recommend them. I found them at
this site.
L’Allegro
Il Penseroso
Fish
starts out by saying Il Penseroso is harder to read than L’Allegro. Fish talks about the experience of the
poem. In L’Allegro Milton the author is
not precise about many aspects of the poem and lets us, the reader, choose or
even give us the choice of not choosing.
In Il Penseroso, Milton has laid out a path for us to follow and we, as
the reader, need to pay attention to what each line is referring to. Therefore it makes it harder for us to read
Il Penseroso and L’Allegro.
Fish
goes over all the interpretations for L’Allegro. The question is who comes to the window? There were many interpretations: L’Allegro, mirth, the lark, cheese man, or
dawn? Milton gives us the choice to
choose any of these. Because we have
this choice we are carefree. Since we
are carefree the reading of the L’Allegro is “easy”. I put the quotes since when I read it, it
took several readings and re-readings to get an understanding. Fish describes it a carefree and since it is
carefree the experience of reading the poem itself is such a pleasure. I would agree with that statement, however I
enjoyed both poems and the experience was enjoyment for both poems not just L’Allegro.
The
other aspect I found interesting is the fact that critics have tried to fix L’Allegro. One critic said that Milton lost lines and he
put some in so that it would “unmuddle” the poem. I agree with Fish here that there was a
reason wrote the poem like he did even if it seems to some people that he
forgot some lines.
Poetry has an interesting way of interpreting ones thoughts and feelings. I think when I read poems that I don't understand, there is another person who reads the same exact poem and gets plenty from it. I also think that the position of the words has a lot to do with the message it conveys. Great review of the chapter. Sounds complex.
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