I’m rereading Paradise Lost right now. I read it for the first time in college, and my copy is littered with margin notes left by my college-age self. Reading these is a little like being haunted by the Ghost of Dumbass Past.
Next to Milton’s synopsis of Book V, “God to render Man inexcusable sends Raphael to admonish him of his obedience, of his free estate, of his enemy near at hand…” I observed, “Not a nice god.”
From Book X:
“So having said, awhile he stood, expecting
Their universal shout and high applause
To fill his ear, when contrary he hears
On all sides, from innumerable tongues
A dismal universal hiss, the sound
Of public scorn; he wonder’d but not long
Had leisure, wond’ring at himself now more;
His Visage drawn he felt to sharp and spare,
His Arms clung to his Ribs, his Legs entwining
Each other, till supplanted down he fell
A monstrous Serpent on his Belly prone,
Reluctant, but in vain, a greater power
Now Rul’d him, punisht in the shape he sinne’d
According to his doom …”
Next to this is written, “Kickass image.”
And next to Book IV’s description of Adam and Eve, “Hee for God only, shee for God in him,” a simple “ugh,” which is, to tell the truth, the sort of note I would probably still generate.
The class was English poetry (1600-1900?), so I would have spent the semester in some anxiety that my inability to scan would be uncovered. It was taught by Prof. William Pritchard (later my thesis advisor) and the margin notes also include a dutiful if muddled transcription of his observations and recommendations. Under a biographical note on Christopher Ricks, who edited the edition we were using, I added: “Frank Kurmod — modern critic.” I also have a really happy memory of watching Prof. P’s face as one of the guys in class laid out the parallels he’d noticed between “Paradise Lost” and the lyrics to “Sympathy for the Devil.”
Given Prof. Pritchard’s son Will’s mania for music when I knew him in grad school, the expression may have been one of patient long-suffering resignation.
Comment by cinetrix — 6/13/2007 @ 5:35 pm
Nyahahah. But you know, ‘a man of wealth and taste’ does have quite a good ring about it.
What a shame none of us had Donald Sutherland to teach us, apple and all. I even wrote a damn essay on Milton at uni – but managed to focus on Marvell (and Eliot’s remarks on both), thank goodness.
Comment by genevieve — 6/13/2007 @ 5:59 pm
Huh, I’ll have to look up Eliot’s remarks. I know Pound was down on Milton and was flinging frothy “hebraic” etc. type remarks around.
Trixie, I don’t care how many times you say it, I will always have trouble imagining stylish wry Prof. Pritchard as someone’s dad. Somewhere along the line I accepted that elementary school teachers may on rare occasion have to go to the bathroom, but there you ask me to make too big a leap. But the face: You know, it had elements of long-suffering resignation but it also … kind of completely put the guy in his place. It was a masterwork of social & academic tutelage through facial indication. I’m normally not for that sort of thing but the guy was being sort of an asshat (if I remember right), like he was the first person to ever hear this incredibly rare rock song & draw these conclusions about it.
Comment by caaf — 6/14/2007 @ 9:14 am
When I am lecturing I always try and spot the look of blank panic as someone writes down a name phonetically, in which case I write it up on the board, even though the sophisticated students think that’s immature! But Kurmod is a charming spelling… I like these PL musings, I was just reading Milton the other day and speculating about whether “The Thin-Spun Life” could be considered a good title for a novel (I thought not)…
Comment by Jenny D — 6/14/2007 @ 6:40 pm