Sonnet 23 by John Milton represents the poet at the height of his craft. Milton has matured from the happy and callow youth who wrote Sonnet 1 — an attempt to participate in a fashionable trend of love poetry. By Sonnet 23, the Petrarchan sonnet in the hands of Milton had grown to become much more versatile than simply love poetry.
He used it to express righteous and bloody anger against the massacre of the Waldenisan sect, a proto-Protestant sect, by the Duke of Savoy in 1655 in Piemont, France. He used it as a kind of “bromance” to heap praise on important political figures such as Cromwell in Sonnet 16. However, there was a third genre of sonnet, which Milton used to express his personal anguish and sorrow.
The poet, by then, had lost his vision. He also experienced other personal tragedies such as the loss of his first and second wife, and his newborn baby Katherine. The third genre of poetry involved his expression of personal grief juxtaposed alongside what can be described as his divine purpose and deep faith.
In this poem, Milton mourns the loss of his wife, Katharine Woodcock, and alludes to the myth of Alcestis, a Greek princess who was rescued from the underworld and brought back to earth by Heracles or Hercules, son of Jove or Zeus — a myth that colors a dream of Milton fantasizing his wife coming back to life.
Milton, Sonnet 23 summary
The poem is organized as a traditional Petrarchan sonnet in terms of form and meter if not subject. Here is the full poem presented below:
Sonnet 23
Methought I saw my late espoused Saint
Brought to me like Alcestis from the grave,
Whom Joves great son to her glad Husband gave,
Rescu'd from death by force though pale and faint.
Mine as whom washt from spot of child-bed taint,
Purification in the old Law did save,
And such, as yet once more I trust to have
Full sight of her in Heaven without restraint,
Came vested all in white, pure as her mind:
Her face was vail'd, yet to my fancied sight,
Love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shin'd
So clear, as in no face with more delight.
But O as to embrace me she enclin'd,
I wak'd, she fled, and day brought back my night
Lines 1-4
The poet in the first four lines is describing what appears to a mystical vision of a “Saint.” The Saint in question here is most likely his wife who died shortly after childbirth. He alludes to Alcestis, the Greek princess who sacrificed her life for her husband and who was rescued by Heracles, “Jove’s great son” (Line 3), from death.
Lines 5–8
In Lines 5-8, the poet is describing the circumstances surrounding the death of his wife. His wife Katherine Woodcock had died shortly after childbirth. Milton here refers to Leviticus 12, which describes laws and rituals for purifying women after childbirth. This is what is meant by “washt from spot of child-bed taint” (Line 5). The poet is sure that he and his wife will meet again in Heaven — “I trust to have / Full sight of her in Heaven (Lines 7-8).
Lines 9–14
Lines 9-14 make it clear that the poet was dreaming. He sees the image of his wife dressed in white and makes as if to embrace her. But he woke up seeing nothing but darkness, as by them Milton had gone blind.
Themes in Sonnet 23
The main themes in Sonnet 23 are grief and anguish and using faith to make meaning out of tragedy. The poet is obviously mourning the loss of his wife. The poem is an expression of grief, which even ends in despair — “day brought back my night” (Line 14).
Making meaning out of grief and despair
Milton uses allusions to Christianity and Greek myths to make meaning out of his tragedy. He compares his wife tp Alcestis, the famous Greek princess who sacrificed her own life to save that of her husband. He is suggesting that this meaningless tragedy wasn’t meaningless. His wife is now a Saint, who sacrificed her life for him and who perhaps as a Saint now watches over him.
He alludes to Leviticus 12 to describe how his wife was “washt from spot of child-bed taint.” This is an allusion to how she died (i.e., a few months after giving birth from complications associated with childbirth). Instead of describing childbirth as the process by which he lost his wife, he appears to be softening it by alluding to an obscure Old Testament law, where she is ritually cleansed and purified.
However, the poet remains overwhelmed by the tragedy. Just as the happy Alcestis myth of the wife reuniting with her husband after being rescued is about to be fulfilled, the poet wakes up to his own blindness and the absence of his wife.
Rhetorical devices used in Sonnet 23
The main rhetorical device used in the poem is allusion. There are allusions to both Greek and Christian references as is typical of Milton’s poetry. As already described, the Greek myth alluded to is that of Alcestis. The myth can be separated into two parts.
The first is the selfless sacrifice that Alcestis makes for her husband by electing to die in his stead. The second is her rescue by Hercules. Hercules had to fight with the God of death, Thanatos, to rescue Alcestis from the grave.
Milton is describing his wife as selfless and loyal as in the first part of the myth. He is also engaging in a happy fantasy of his wife being rescued from the grave and reuniting with him as in the second part of the myth. Another important thing to note is how Christian values are juxtaposed alongside classical Greek ones.
Alcestis in the original Greek myth was rescued “though pale and faint” (Line 4). However, in Milton’s vision, you have a curious blend of Greek myth and Christian concepts in the following lines:
Her face was vail'd, yet to my fancied sight,
Love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shin'd
The veiled face appears to reference Alcestis. Yet, love, sweetness, and goodness shining in his wife’s face reminds us of the images of saints with faces beaming with light, which is famous in Christian iconography. This is Milton summoning all his learning, art, and faith to bring meaning to what would have seemed like a senseless tragedy at the time. The poet despite his blindness and personal anguish would go on to live a life of service in literature, politics, and faith. We see full expression of his determination to do so in Sonnet 19.
Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2024, October 31). Milton, Sonnet 23: Summary and Analysis. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/milton-sonnet-23-summary-and-analysis |
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