Take home examination on “Lycidas” and Paradise Regained
Due Thursday, May 2nd, 2013
Please answer both question 1 and 2.
1. In “Lycidas” Milton devotes lines 132-151 to the description of flowers
that “falsely” cover the “laureate hearse.” These lines constitute nearly one
tenth of the entire poem. Explain the intrinsic meaning of this passage and
then suggest ways that it helps to effectively convey the overall message of
the poem. You may suggest that it does not help. Present your thinking in
a well-written essay, approximately 2-3 double-spaced pages in length.
2. Two great questions arise from a close reading of Paradise Lost. First, do
both Christ and Satan understand Christ’s divinity, and if so, at what point in
the text do they come to understand it? Second, in what way, exactly, does
Milton view pre-Christian literature? Answer ONE of these questions based
on a close reading of the text. Present your thinking in a well-written essay,
approximately 2-3 double-spaced pages in length.