The Romantic Poets and Evil
1. John Milton and Sin
One of the most important things to understand about John Milton is that he was a great sinner. He committed many terrible crimes, and he did not repent for them. Instead, he continued to sin and live a life of debauchery. This is evident in his writing, which is full of references to sin and the Devil.
2. Milton and the Devil
Milton was very interested in the Devil, and he wrote about him often. In fact, Milton’s depiction of the Devil in Paradise Lost is one of the most famous in all of literature. The reason for this is that Milton believed that the Devil was a real being, and he wanted to warn people about him.
3. Blake and Milton
William Blake was another major poet of the Romantic period, and he also had a great interest in John Milton. In fact, Blake even wrote a poem about Milton, which is called “Milton.” In this poem, Blake praises Milton for his wisdom and for his courage in facing the Devil.
4. order and Divine Law
One of the things that Milton was very interested in was the concept of order. He believed that there was a natural order to the universe, and that this order was created by God. This is why Milton constantly refers to God’s law in his writing.
5. spiritual Evil in Blake’s work
As we have seen, both Blake and Milton were interested in the idea of evil. However, they had different views on what evil actually was. For Blake, evil was something spiritual, while for Milton it was something physical.
6. Ghosts in Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Finally, we come to Samuel Coleridge, who was another major poet of the Romantic period. Coleridge was interested in many of the same things as Blake and Milton, but he had his own unique take on them. One of the things that Coleridge was interested in was ghosts. In fact, one of his most famous poems, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” is about a ghost ship.
7. Conclusion
As we can see, there are many similarities between the writings of Blake and Milton. Both poets were interested in the same things, and both had their own unique perspectives on those things.