Milton (UK)
I seem to see my beloved wife who died not long ago.
Sent back to earth like Hercules.
Al Sesti had a narrow escape,
Pale and powerless, I gave it back to my husband.
She is like a woman saved by an ancient bathing ceremony,
The original maternal blood stains have been washed clean;
She wore a white dress as pure as her heart,
Just like I believe I will be free.
I met her in heaven one day.
Although she was veiled, I seemed to see it.
She exudes intimacy, kindness and gentleness.
More pleasing than anything on anyone's face.
But when she bent down and hugged me, I woke up.
People go to empty buildings, and day brings long nights.
(translated by Yin)
John milton (1608- 1674) is the most famous British poet, thinker, politician and critic in the17th century, the cornerstone of European progressive culture in the17th century, and Hong Chao in the16th century and18th century.
In the British bourgeois revolutionary movement, in the struggle between old and new ideas, Milton has always been a soldier from the front. He used a pen as a weapon to cheer for the newly established * * *, leaving a glorious text.
In his personal life, Milton experienced a bumpy life. He has been married three times. The first wife, Powell Mary, was beautiful and stubborn. She left him soon after her marriage because she was not used to the silence and seriousness of her husband's family. Two years later, Mary returned to Milton, and the poet forgave her. Mary later gave birth to three daughters for Milton and died while giving birth to the fourth child. The second wife died in the puerperium 15 months after marriage. Only Elizabeth Minscher, the third wife, died behind Milton.
As a poet with rich works, Milton seldom writes love poems. My Dead Wife is the only lyric poem he wrote for his lover. This famous sonnet was written for his second wife, Gardeline Woodcock. She is a gentle and virtuous girl, and her husband and wife love each other, but unfortunately the good times don't last long. When they got married, Milton was blind and never saw his wife's face. Her death broke Milton's heart. In addition, the political situation in Britain was very serious at that time. Britain and this country have become a military dictatorship, and the fruits of the revolution have fallen into the hands of the big bourgeoisie and new noble. The danger of restoration is imminent. Milton wrote this mourning poem in the double pain of national disaster and family disaster.
Milton uses a simile in the first four lines of this poem. This involves an allusion. According to euripides's play Al Sesti, the heroine Al Sesti's husband is doomed to be short-lived. If someone dies for him, he can live a long life. Al Sesti is willing to die for her husband. Her spirit of sacrifice touched the great hero Hercules. He fought death, saved her from death and returned her to her husband. Milton compared Al Sesti to his lover and portrayed his dead wife as a beautiful, noble and self-sacrificing image. At the same time, it also reveals that the poet hopes to bring his dead wife back to life with supernatural power. Through this allusion, the high appreciation and evaluation of his dead wife and the unforgettable thoughts of his lover come to the fore.
The fifth to eighth lines of the poem describe the innocent image of the dead wife. According to the Bible, God stipulated to the Israelites through Moses: From the eighth day after giving birth to a son, a woman is regarded as unclean within thirty-three days; From the fifteenth day after giving birth to a daughter, she shall be regarded as unclean for sixty-six days, during which she shall not touch the sacred objects. After this period, you have to hold a tribute to the gods to be clean. (Leviticus) The Virgin Mary followed this method after giving birth to Jesus, so there was the Virgin Cleanliness Day. Because his wife died in the puerperium, in the poet's imagination, his beloved wife has been washed away, and the blood on the puerperium has become extremely clean. Milton is religious, and his dead wife died during the puerperium. In his poems, he firmly believes that his dead wife has been baptized, which shows his good wishes and casts a mysterious religious color on his poems.
The next four lines further describe the spiritual beauty hidden under the holy appearance of the dead wife: "affectionate, kind and gentle." It directly expresses the poet's deep affection for his dead wife: "it is more pleasant than anything on anyone's face."
The first twelve lines describe the dream situation in a holy and beautiful way. However, the last two lines of this poem have taken a dramatic turn. The poet wakes up from his dream to make it disappear, and his love for his wife and all the joy arising from his love for his wife disappear instantly. What fills them is the day like night. The dream of lover's existence is bright, and the day without lover is dark. The sharp contrast reveals the poet's profound thoughts.
Sonnet is a lyric poem initiated by Italian poet Petrarch, which was used by Shakespeare and elizabeth barrett browning to write a well-known chapter. Milton's love poems are profound and touching, and they are also treasures in sonnets.