In the poem, Jupiter's eldest son refers to Hercules, and being forcibly rescued from death refers to Hercules (Heracles) fighting death in her graveyard and saving her, while the gift for her happy husband refers to returning Heracles to her husband Admetus.
In addition, the poem also uses the allusion of "cleansing ceremony" in Hebrew code. In a short sonnet, it is rare to use dots so frequently, which shows that Milton has a wide range of knowledge and is very handy, thus serving the theme better and expressing his feelings.
The most touching part of this poem lies in its profound religious characteristics. He calls for his holy wife, who is not only physically pure, but also spiritually holy. She is the embodiment of love, sweetness and kindness. Because of the doping of religious factors, we can always find the factors of self-comfort in spirit. Although it looks a little sad, it always contains hope, so we can get rid of it and find inner peace and tranquility, which can often give readers a true and harmless sadness and tenderness. Just like Milton's wife who died in heaven: "She is affectionate, kind and gentle, and more pleasing than anyone's face."
Milton's mourning poems are based on romanticism. He believes that even though his beloved wife has passed away, their optimism and firm belief support him to believe that he can still love his beloved wife forever and even meet him in heaven. So this mourning poem is also full of romantic detachment. It shows the dreamy sweetness of heaven and paints a rosy coat for the poet's sadness.
It can be said that it is the revelation of religion that makes the tentacles of western literati's artistic imagination fly to the rose circle of heaven, galloping freely like an angel, or crossing hell or resorting to dreams. It makes the western sorrowful poets become detached and broad-minded, turns despair into joyful hope, turns death into eternal life, and makes them as full of lofty poetry as streams return to the sea. This enables them to overcome the barriers between life and death with a calm and serene psychological state in the face of the early death of relatives, friends or lovers, and actively and effectively eliminate the obstacles in their chests.
Milton wrote several love poems in his early years, such as To the Nightingale, and five poems written by him in praise of an Italian girl. But what is more profound is this song "My Dead Wife". Milton's family life is very uneven and he has been married three times. 1642, at the age of 34, he fell in love with Mary Powell at first sight and got married in a hurry. Mary is only 17 years old, the eldest daughter of an aristocratic family in Oxfordshire, and her family is a royalist.
After marriage, their life is very unhappy. Mary is not used to Milton's puritan moral lifestyle. Besides, Milton was busy with writing and teaching, and reading late into the night made her feel lonely and unbearable, so she lived in her parents' house for a long time. Milton wanted to get a divorce, so he wrote a pamphlet entitled "Principles and Implementation of Divorce", and put forward a progressive view that marriage should be based on love. But it was so difficult to divorce in England at that time that even Puritan friends opposed him. When his marriage was on the verge of breaking up, Mary suddenly returned to him and lived a harmonious life. Mary bore him three children. At the age of 27, she died in childbirth when she gave birth to her fourth child.
1656, Milton got married for the second time. His wives, Catherine and Woodcock, are 20 years younger than him. Their gentle and kind nature has brought Milton comfort and happiness. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. After marriage 15 months, Catherine died again in the puerperium. Milton was heartbroken and had to meet her in a dream. This poem is about meeting in a dream and waking up sad. The dead wife's face was veiled, and she was in a trance. Milton never saw her face because he was blind when he married her. But the impression she left on him was pure, so in his dream, his eyes suddenly regained sight, and he clearly saw her in heaven, dressed in white, as pure as her heart. Her image is like a virgin with a halo.
This little poem is touching, touching. There was a eulogy written by Nalan Rong Ruo in China in the Qing Dynasty, which was quite similar to this poem. Let's compare and read: "Since then, I have been in love for several years without a shirt and tears, but I have a dream. The most painful crow, frequently urging magpies to leave, won a cry. I am still alive, but I am not allowed to look. " How similar is the disillusionment of "I'm not allowed to watch" and "But when she was bending over to hug me, I woke up". From Milton's poems, we can see that his evaluation of women is the unity of pure mind and beautiful appearance, and he pays more attention to the beauty of her mind.
1662, Milton got married for the third time. His wife Elizabeth Minshull was only 24 years old, and Milton was 54 years old. She received a good education, liked singing, was good at cooking, and had a gentle temperament, which made Milton get good care and happiness in his later years. Milton's Paradise Lost was also written at this time, which can be said to benefit from her help.
Milton's view of love is different from that of Renaissance poets. During the Renaissance, poets praised love boldly and frankly, filled with joy, expressed freely and without scruple. However, Milton's love poems are subtle and elegant, mysterious as a veil, but they have the flavor of oriental poetry. He is serious and reserved, praising the love after marriage and advocating the unity of marriage and love. This poem occupies an important position in the history of lyric poetry with its extraordinary religious flavor, lofty style, pure feelings and delicate brushwork. Milton's poems are rarely mentioned, which shows its charm.