Milton Dictates Paradise Lost Poem by Bijay Kant Dubey

Milton Dictates Paradise Lost

(The Writing And Composition of Paradise Lost? / The Dictation of Paradise Lost To His Daughters/ How Did Blind Milton Compose His Paradise Lost?)

Blind and impoverished Milton,
How did he dictate
Paradise Lost
To his three daughters,
How was the scene
And situation poetical
Milton dictating?

The story of his own development,
His rise and fall,
Rebellion to liberation to his fall,
Nurturing liberty to republicanism
Of the free spirit,
The progress of his poetry
With the rebel as his persona?

His Satan as the Satan of Mind,
Human Heart and Soul,
Satan the Liberator,
Satan the Radical,
The poetical mouthpiece and persona
Of his poetry written in blank verse.

A work composed in between
1658 and 1663
And revised very often
During the period of turmoil
Followed by religious flux and political upheaval,
Telling the internal crisis of mind
Full of despair, loss, bewilderment and gain.

The art and craft of writing,
The plan and execution of work,
How did he plan even in blindness
With the help of daughters, aids
And amanuenses and friends
Dictating it to gloriously,
A saga full of personal and political hardships?

A revolt, a rebellion in mind
Gripping the soul,
Trespassing the limits in quest of
Unresolving queries
Never to be answered
Riddles of life and the world
With something as Invisible, Invincible

God as Superman,
Whom call you,
May be,
But how to justify the ways of,
The Ways of God to Man?

With Satan, God, Man,
What to craft,
Script it,
The Poor Destiny of Man,
The Rise and Fall,
What it sublime, what it mortal?

Satan a thought, an idea, a dream,
Of the mind,
Satan a rebel, a revolutionary,
A radical rebel
Planning a fall, an overthrow,
A coup.

Satan and Satanic forces are within,
Within us,
Always conspiring,
But wisdom, knowledge hold
Them back from
Revolting, rebelling
Never vindictive of.

Whose Sin,
Wherefrom it, I don't know it,
The Origin and the Beginning
Of the Story,
The End of it,
One which has to end, endeth it here.

The matters
Of Theology, Cosmology, Morality,
Non-explanatory for
Why do we err,
Why are we fallible,
What are we for exactly?

But his daughters' reactions
I could not know,
Know them,
Hearing from them
The Story of Fall,
Man's Fall from Heaven,
I could not from his writers.

Paradise Lost is a revolt in mind,
Is a rebellion in mind,
Going within the heart of Man
Internally,
Always revolting, always rebelling
But routed in each attempt.

Afterthought
(Postscript)

Were his daughters poor,
Were they simple,
Educated or not,
How were they,
How did they dictation?

Was Milton a rebel,
Was he a revolutionary,
A radical,
An anti-royalist,
Was Satan the revolt
Of his mind
Against the Power Force?

Poetry as a chain of thought,
Poetry as ids and images,
Poetry as passing images,
Stray thoughts to be scribbled
And taken a note of.

After dictating Paradise Lost,
How did he feel it,
Did he the need to revise and re-edit,
What were his personal comments,
Notes and jottings?