Lycidas by John Milton | Structure, Summary and Analysis

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Lycidas was one of the early works of John Milton. It was published in 1638 in Justa Edouardo King Naufrago, a collection of elegies dedicated to the memory of Edward King who died by drowning when the ship he was traveling with sank in the Irish sea in 1637.

John Milton didn’t have many friends during his college time but he was very close to Edward King who was elected as a fellow of Christ College, Cambridge. Milton viewed King as an honest, selfless, and able one among the corrupt clergymen. Many other alumni of Cambridge wrote elegies for King in Greek and Latin that were published in Justa Edouardo King Naufrago but Milton wrote Lycidas in English and it was the last poem of the collection of elegies.

Structure of Lycidas

Lycidas is a long 193 line poem. Milton mentioned this poem as a monody, a poem as a monologue. However, there are many other voices in the poem along with the narrator. Milton cleverly changes the form of the poem with each new voice. The shift from one form of a poem to another reflects the entrance of a new voice. In the end, the main narrator of the poem goes away while the second speaker appears. The poem lines are written in Iambic Pentameter with no specific rhyming. The poem is written as an Italian Cantazone for most of its parts. At the end, when the second speaker appears, the poem changes its rhyme to a consistent ottava rime with the rhythm of abababcc.

Though the poem is an elegy, Milton stressed more on his knowledge of classical literature and poetry. He certainly expressed his grief for the loss of Edward King, his friend, but this poem appears more like his resume, his effort to establish himself as a better poet. The poem includes a lot of fiction in place of true natural feelings and raises too many concerns along with King’s demise. Many critics have noticed that this elegy is inauthentic. Samuel Johnson criticized this elegy and said, ‘in the poem, there is no nature, for there is no truth, there is no art, for there is nothing new.” Johnson criticized the whole genre of pastoral elegies as ‘easy, vulgar, and therefore disgusting.” He famously said about Lycidas, “Where there is leisure for fiction there is little grief.” Despite such harsh criticism, Lycidas was exceedingly popular and it was considered the best poem of John Milton.

Summary of Lycidas

The poem is a pastoral elegy and like classical pastoral elegies, it begins as the poet invokes the Muse and offers the reason for writing this poem. A Muse is any of the nine ancient Greek goddesses who presided over arts, music, and literature. Ancient Greek poet or writer used to call his particular Muse to inspire him. In ancient times, poets used to write pastoral elegy in which they used to give a fictional name for the diseased. In this poem, Milton addresses his friend Edward King as Lycidas as Lycidas was also a historical figure who died at a young age before he could bloom.

Lycidas can be divided into six parts. The first part is the prologue followed by the body of the poem consisting of four parts, and then it ends with the epilogue, the sixth part.

Prologue of Lycidas (Lines 1-24)

The poem begins as the narrator picks leaves and flowers for the funeral of Lycidas. He plucks unripe berries and ivy. The plants die too young, like Lycidas.

The poet then invokes his Muse and explains his reason for writing the poem. Milton says that he vowed that he will keep away from poetry until he gets enough maturity to write poems. However, ‘bitter constraints and sad occasion' is forcing him to write an elegy. He says that he is too sad for the demise of his friend and there is no other way to express his grief but to use words. Hence, he is compelled to write this elegy. He invokes the Muse to inspire him to write this elegy. He asks the Muse to fill his urn with water and mourn Lycidas. In a way, Milton puts himself in the same line as that of Theocritus, Virgil, or Homer.

The 2nd Part of Lycidas (Lines 25-64)

The poet describes how Lycidas and the poet were enjoying their life as jolly shepherds. Milton invokes rural pastoral imagery that actually gives an idea of his life with King at Cambridge, the ‘self-same hill’ where they learned together. He describes how he and King used to start their day with studies early in the morning that continued throughout the day late into the night. Alas! Lycidas is no more, and this is a huge change, the world is no more like it was before his death. In a traditional pastoral elegy style, the narrator then asks his Muse, where was she when Lycidas died? Why couldn’t the goddess save his friend against death? And then he answers himself that his demise was fate and even her presence would not have saved him.

Then the poet reflects on the philosophy behind this. He wonders if his hard work and poetry can accomplish anything good? Why should he lead a strenuous disciplined life while abandoning all the pleasures he can have and cultivate the Muse? He thinks that one does so to obtain Fame, which is the reward of living laborious days. But as he is about to get his reward, Fate intervenes and he dies. In the precarious human life lies the tragic irony. Here, Milton suggests that Lycidas (or King) was also an emerging poet who could have earned a huge name had he lived longer.

While the poet is wondering about this, the God of Music and Poetry arrives. Apollo (Phoebus) tells the speaker to remain calm. He reminds the speaker that fame on earth isn't nearly as awesome as life in heaven and that life in heaven is where real fame happens.

The 3rd Part (Lines 85-131)

The third section begins with the pastoral description of mourners lamenting the death of Lycidas. The sea god Triton arrives and he leads the procession of mourners. Triton is followed by his winds behind him. In the prologue, the poet called the Muse to mourn for Lycidas, Triton answers his call on behalf of the Muse. Triton denies taking the blame for the death of Lycidas. He says the winds were good and the water was smooth. The ship sank because it was built during an eclipse and was doomed to fail.

Then appears St. Peter, “The Pilot of the Galilean lake.” He mourns the death of Lycidas and his speech soon turns into a sermon against the corrupt clergy and the sad condition of the Anglican church.

The 4^th Part (Lines 132-164)

In this part, the poet describes the “flowerets of a thousand hues” cast on the hearts of Lycidas, is an “escape from intolerable reality into a lovely world of make-believe.” Suddenly, the poet realizes that Lycidas’s body is in the sea and he cannot have a proper funeral.

The 5th Part (Lines 165-183)

In these lines, Milton brings upon the idea of Afterlife and expresses his strong belief in immortality. Grief and sorrow are temporary. And though Lycidas is apparently dead, he has arisen from the dead: “Through the dear might of Him that walked the waves.” Lycidas is in heaven, and therefore “Weep ye no more.” The saints there to entertain him in “sweet societies / That sing, and singing in their glory move.” The poet offers the image of the Sun setting only to rise again, a metaphor for Christian resurrection.

The Epilogue (Lines 185-193)

The shepherd leaves the place and a new speaker continues the poem to its end. The second speaker describes the shepherd rising to explore new pastures, leaving the place where he grieved for Lycidas. The conclusion points to a new determination both to face life hopefully and to rise up to greater poetic achievements.

Lycidas is a proper pastoral elegy describing the loss of a close friend. The mourning is twice interrupted where the poet describes his personal sorrow with universal significance. He uses the death of Lycidas to reflect on the precariousness of life and the irony of fate that can render all human efforts futile. Along with that, the poet also comments against the degeneration and corruption of the Anglican church while suggesting that Lycidas was an honest selfless clergyman.

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