Il Penseroso (The Serious Man) is a vision of poetic melancholy by John Milton, first found in the 1645/1646 quarto of verses The Poems of Mr. John Milton, both English and Latin, published by Humphrey Moseley. It was presented as a companion piece to L'Allegro, a vision of poetic mirth. The speaker of this reflective ode dispels ""vain deluding Joys"" from his mind in a ten-line prelude, before invoking ""divinest Melancholy"" to inspire his future verses. The melancholic mood is idealised by the speaker as a means by which to ""attain / To something like prophetic strain,"" and for the central action of Il Penseroso - which, like L'Allegro, proceeds in couplets of iambic tetrameter.
By:
John Milton Imprint: Blurb Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 3mm
Weight: 82g ISBN:9781006870484 ISBN 10: 1006870482 Pages: 46 Publication Date:23 August 2024 Audience:
General/trade
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ELT Advanced
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active