Is 'lycidas' a Subjective Poetry? Or, Is Milton Himself the Subject of 'lycidas'? Or, Which Autobiographical Note Do You Find in 'lycidas'?

The autobiographical note is quite conspicuous in the poetry of John Milton. He is considered to be the selfconscious poet. It is said by critics that in 'Lycidas' though the professed theme of the poem is to bewail the death of a learned friend, yet in fact he himself is the subject matter of the poem. E. M. Tillyard has said in this context, "....... fundamentally 'Lycidas' concerts Milton himself. King is but an excuse for one of Milton's personal poems".

Now we may turn our attention to a consideration of the personal elements found in the poem 'Lycidas'.

Milton professes that Edward King's death ('bitter constraint' and 'sad occasion dear') makes him write the elegy, but the lines 15- 22 are like to convey the impression that his grief (melodious tear) does not wholly spring from the grief caused by the death of his friend but it is also inspired by the selfish motive that his own death should be mourned by some other poets.

Again, the digressions in the poem contain personal elements. In the first digression, he discusses the tragic and unhappy fate of poets in general. Perhaps he expresses his own desire to who fame and popularity- that is why he calls fame "that last

infirmity of noble minds".

In the second digression he expresses his attitude of indignation towards the corrupt clergy of the day. The theme is relevant to the subject of the poem. But the fact that Milton becomes very emotional in his tone and he almost loses his temper makes us think that he has something personal in the matter.

The autobiographical note becomes conspicuous at the end of the poem. Milton gives up the masque of a shepherd and speaks in his own voice. He expresses his desire to visit 'new woods' and 'pastures new' which can suggest the fact that Milton desires not to write short poems like 'Lycidas', to resume his silence and to write poems

like 'Paradise Lost' and give the world something "unattemped yet in prose or rhyme."

After having read through the text of 'Lycidas' we have to reach the conclusion whether Lycidas or Milton is the theme of the poem. Though we can not deny the autobiographical elements in the poem, yet we can not conclude that Milton himself is

the theme of the poem.

'Lycidas' as a pastoral elegy [B.A_Part-II_K.U]

An elegy is a poem or a song in which the premature death of a person is lamented and the term pastoral refers to the rural world of the shepherds. Therefore, pastoral elegy is that species of elegy that represents both the mourner and the mourned as shepherds. This poetic form was originated by Theocritus and was continued by Virgil. It was later developed in various European countries during