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Chapter 2 - The 1645 Poems

Spenser’s “Colin Clouts Come Home Againe” and (the Revisions of) Milton’s “Lycidas”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2024

Lee Morrissey
Affiliation:
Clemson University, South Carolina
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Summary

Milton’s poem, “Lycidas,” written in memory of Edward King, who drowned sailing from England to his native Ireland, represents a turning point in Milton’s development, his culminating intervention in the ancient pastoral elegy tradition. Considered archipelagically, “Lycidas” narrates a crisis that is spiritual, political, and regional at the same time: A Cambridge-educated Protestant, King represents an interisland possibility for Irish reformation, lost. With “Lycidas,” Milton rereads Spenser’s "Colin Clouts," revising Spenser’s earlier poem. A new, better-educated Colin – Edward King – does not come home again. The loss of Edward King alters what Milton thinks could have been a more positive, reformed relationship on both sides of the Irish Seas.

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Chapter
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Milton's Ireland
Royalism, Republicanism, and the Question of Pluralism
, pp. 58 - 80
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • The 1645 Poems
  • Lee Morrissey, Clemson University, South Carolina
  • Book: Milton's Ireland
  • Online publication: 14 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009462389.004
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  • The 1645 Poems
  • Lee Morrissey, Clemson University, South Carolina
  • Book: Milton's Ireland
  • Online publication: 14 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009462389.004
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The 1645 Poems
  • Lee Morrissey, Clemson University, South Carolina
  • Book: Milton's Ireland
  • Online publication: 14 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009462389.004
Available formats
×