Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Leaving out the poetry ...

... ‘Paradise Lost’ in Prose. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

I am currently reading along while listening to a recording of Paradise Lost. I had started this during the summer, but got sidetracked, and just started over again the other day. I'm not having any trouble at all following along - and I haven't looked at the poem since college. The thrill of it lies in the sonorous language. Why would you want to turn it into prose?

1 comment:

  1. Mz. Fitz 'n' Startz regretz to inform (the editorial) you that turning Milton's poetry into prose can only be compared to turning a silk purse into a sow's squear. Sorry. Wrong numbness; half its beauty *is* its poetry, fer the love of Him (and, that's exactly what it is, a fantastic epic hymnastic); can we say Sisyphant? Yep, we can't; but, that doesn't mean we shan't. Yech! Eek! Blech!

    p.s. I know: I should learn to say what I *really* mean . . . Damn it!

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