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Paper #1
Part One)
1. Beginning “On Shakespeare” with “What needs my Shakespeare for his honor’d Bones / The labor of an age in piled stones,” Milton regards Shakespeare as his. He recognizes that he has his own opinions of Shakespeare and that others may have contrasting thoughts on Shakespeare. Alternative opinions, though, are okay! By stating “The labor of an age in piled stones” Milton appears to be describing, in his opinion, Shakespeare’s ability as that which is only granted by hard work and effort, just as piling stones is taxing physical work.
2. “Relics,” as mentioned on line 3 of Milton’s “On Shakespeare,” are normally associated with archeologists. These archeologists would excavate Shakespeare’s works, hidden deep under the star-ypointing pyramid from the next sentence.
3. The problem with hiding Shakespeare’s “hallowed relics … / Under a star-ypointing pyramid” is that Shakespeare’s works will be hidden for potentially hundreds or thousands of years. His works will not be able to be put to good use or perhaps even will not be able to inspire future writers.
4. Both “The labor of an age in piled stones” or “a star-ypointing pyramid” are “weak witness[es]” of Shakespeare's name because building a monument does not hold a candle to Shakespeare’s greatness. Building a monument would be pointless as Shakespeare already built his own (line 8), representative of his writing reputation, far grander than any attempted.
5. A “livelong” monument, as referenced in line 8, represents the eternal legacy that Shakespeare builds for himself.
6. Line 9 states “for whilst to th’shame of slow-endeavoring art.” In the context of this sentence fragment, the phrase “slow-endeavoring” refers to art as slow to affect its readers, compared to Shakespeare’s writing as swift and strong in its influence.
7. When Milton states Shakespeare composed “easy numbers” that “flow,” “easy numbers” refers to verses of Shakespeare’s poetry that easily “flow” off the tongue. “Flow” relates to the meter of a single line of poetry or the pattern of the beats with a certain number syllables present.
8. By staying that “each heart” has taken Shakespeare’s lines “with deep impression,” Milton is eloquently explaining that readers take the pages of Shakespeare’s work to heart, so to speak, being emotionally affected by his writing and being left with a long-lasting impression, unique to anyone who reads Shakespeare.
9. Milton writes “Then thou our fancy of itself bereaving,” with “fancy” being another term for the imagination and to bereave meaning to deprive or make desolate. Shakespeare’s writing awes readers to the point that there is nothing more for them to possibly imagine, an imagination deprived, in Shakespeare’s perfect works. In result, Shakespeare “make[s] us marble,” turning us into marble statues and stopping us stone cold with amazement.
10. In line 14, Shakespeare is reinserting imagination to “make us marble,” forcing readers to experience a string of emotional states such as irritation, agitation, curiousness, wonder, awe, or shock that can stop one’s heart stone cold, much like a marble statue. The readers themselves henceforth transform into Shakespeare’s grand monuments.
Part Two)
Both Ben Jonson and John Milton commend Shakespeare for his accomplished writing, placing him on a pedestal far higher than any other author. Contrasting Jonson’s “To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author Mr. William Shakespeare” and Milton’s “On Shakespeare,” differences between the two pieces can often be attributed to the writer’s amount of experience. While Jonson was already established as a renowned writer, Milton was only 22 years of age with little experience in the big leagues of poetry. I can only assume Milton felt inferior to the likes of Jonson. With my unwarranted assumptions regarding Milton’s self-righteous demeanor, I had predicted that Milton would overcompensate for his lack of experience but was proven wrong. To overcome this challenge, Milton remains extraordinarily humble, using Jonson’s poetry as a guide for ideas and overall structure of his own poetry, simplifying these concepts, and then remaining anonymous when “On Shakespeare” was first published.
Milton’s poem can be compared to Jonson’s both structurally and conceptually. Milton addresses similar topics, using “To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author Mr. William Shakespeare” as a guide and expanding upon Jonson’s position with his own perspective in an identical rhyme scheme (AABB). This ensures Milton’s sense of validity. In terms of conceptual similarities, the most notable is the suggestion that a monument has been built in Shakespeare’s honor. Jonson’s mention of this monument is minimal, spanning lines 19 to 24. According to Jonson, Shakespeare does not need to be buried with the greats, such as Chaucer, Spenser, or Beaumont, because “Thou art a monument without a tomb, / And art alive still while thy book doth live, / And we have wits to read and praise to give” (line 22-24). Shakespeare is himself a monument, built by his own reputation. In addition, Jonson suggests that Shakespeare is not yet deceased, surviving through his writing and his readers’ responses to his works. Reader response and interpretation is everchanging over time, allowing the meanings in Shakespeare’s works to take on a life of their own, potentially far different than Shakespeare had originally intended. Shakespeare’s writing, henceforth, lives separately from himself in death. Milton, on the other hand, constructs the entirety of his poem around this Shakespearean monument and expands upon Jonson’s brief introduction to this concept. Addressing Shakespeare, Milton says “Thou in our wonder and astonishment / Hast built thyself a livelong Monument” (line 7-8). Shakespeare has built this monument himself without reliance on others who look upon him with doubt, and eventually in “wonder and astonishment” when he succeeds (line 7). Milton’s quote can be compared to Jonson, who suggests that Shakespeare requires readers’ approval to continue living on after death. So long as readers have the “wits to read” Shakespeare’s writing, there will be “praise to give,” maintaining Shakespeare’s reputation despite him being deceased (line 24). He surpasses Jonson’s basic idea, though, when he suggests that Shakespeare’s readers actually become part of his legacy, as “Marble with too much conceiving,” and therefore statues for the monument he has built for himself (line 14).
As explained previously, Milton homes in on one particular area of Jonson’s poem, specifically that Shakespeare’s reputation has built a monument. Creating a simpler poem may serve as Milton’s acknowledgment that his writing cannot surpass Jonson’s, and therefore does not attempt this feat so as to avoid the humiliation of a failed attempt. Additionally, focusing on one main topic with minor subtopics, versus a wide variety of topics, maintains simplicity and clarity for readers. Milton’s primary focus in his poem is the idea that Shakespeare has created a monument. He branches off from this main topic to address the effect that Shakespeare’s work has on the reader by stating “For whilst to th’shame of slow-endeavoring art, / Thy easy numbers flow, and that each heart / Hath from the leaves of thy invalu’d book” (line 9-11). While the art of writing is usually slow to affect its readers, Shakespeare’s is quick and strong in its influence. In contrast, Jonson bounces around from at first personifying ignorance, affection, and malice, to honoring, praising, grieving, and eventually being either angered or inspired by Shakespeare after death, hence making the poem less concise than Milton’s, as Milton’s poem is a total of 16 lines while Jonson’s is a total of 80, and more difficult for readers to follow and develop overarching conclusions. This concept is particularly relatable to my personal reading of “To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author Mr. William Shakespeare,” unable to comprehend what was being conveyed prior to being guided through this poem line by line as a class. Moreover, Milton refrains from making countless references to historical figures, in comparison to Jonson, who names a variety of famous writers and notable philosophers whom Shakespeare would have to be forcefully “lodge[d]” next to, including Chaucer, Spenser, Beaumont, Euripides, Sophocles, Pacivius, Accius, and Seneca, among others, whom the reader is expected to know offhand (line 19). When we look Jonson’s diction, we see that the word “lodge” suggests that Shakespeare did not quite fit next to the rest of these figures, requiring that a great amount of force be exerted to squeeze him in next to the greats. Shakespeare far surpassed them with the greatness Jonson praises. The only reference that Milton makes is to the Egyptian kings, stating “And so Sepulcher’d in such pomp dost lie, / That kings for such a Tomb would wish to die” (line 14-15). He compares Shakespeare to a king. Not only is Shakespeare a king of writers, but like a king would want to inspire a string of emotional states, as referenced throughout the poem, such as irritation, agitation, curiosity, wonder, awe or shock. These emotions, evoked by Shakespeare’s works, would not only create a sense of respect, being worthy of such a wide variety of responses, but also open dialogue between readers, keeping Shakespeare alive in conversation. For a king, dialogue, even that which criticizes them, posits their importance as a worthwhile topic in conversation. Milton’s simplicity appeals to the common reader who may not have the background knowledge required to understand these references in the context of the poem.
Milton further acknowledges his inexperience by publishing “On Shakespeare” anonymously. By doing so, he does not need to fear being compared to Jonson, neither measuring up nor falling short of “To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author Mr. William Shakespeare.” His reputation would be safe if he tried and failed to commemorate Shakespeare with his poetry as Jonson had. Just as Milton remains anonymous in his poem’s physical publication, he also refrains from identifying himself as the one who wrote the text, not making any blatant references to himself or expressing blind faith in his abilities. The one exception is when he states, “What needs my Shakespeare for his honor’d Bones” (line 1). The word “my” clearly alludes to himself but may also be used to blur the lines between his and Jonson’s writing, further concealing his identity, as Jonson too claims Shakespeare to be his in line 19 of “To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author Mr. William Shakespeare.” In comparison, Jonson alludes to himself on multiple occasions, blatantly proud of the knowledge he possesses and others lack. For example, by stating “And though thou hadst small Latin and less Greek, / From thence to honor thee I would not seek / For names,” Jonson admits that he will not confide in anyone but himself, for most others have less experience than he on such matters of Latin and Greek (lines 31-33). Writing himself into his poem intentionally puts more emphasis on him and his abilities as the author, unlike Milton who strived to avoid such attention.