The Power of Remembrance: Transcendence of Death and Sufferings in Milton’s Sonnet XIX
John Milton (1608–1674) went through sufferings, some of which are even unspeakable, in his lifetime. None, however, stopped this dauntless man from reaching his apogee in literature. In lieu of being devoured by his grieves, he had demonstrated how he transformed adversities into his muse and remembrance in sonnet XIX (Methought I saw my late espoused saint).
Methought I saw my late espoused saint
Brought to me, like Alcestis, from the grave,
Whom Jove’s great son to her glad husband gave,
Rescu’d from death by force, though pale and faint.
Mine, as whom wash’d 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 veil’d, yet to my fancied sight
Love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shin’d
So clear as in no face with more delight.
But Oh! as to embrace me she inclin’d,
I wak’d, she fled, and day brought back my night.
(Sonnet XIX)
Sonnet XIX is a poem believed to be dedicated to his second deceased wife, Katherine Woodcock. Before losing his eyesight in 1652, Milton’s career prevailed soon after making a wise choice in political orientation, which is to defend the acts of Oliver Cromwell, including erasing moderate members of the Parliament and executing King Charles, in The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (1649). Notwithstanding his blindness, he met and married Woodcock, with whom he was deeply enamoured, in 1658. Desperately sadly, Woodcock died after giving birth to her infant daughter who also died shortly after Wockcock’s death. The triumph of his career was somehow a piece of evidence of that one cannot have it both ways and magnified his agony. Losing two of his dearests, Milton composed sonnet XIX to contain his pain and elucidate the remembrance of Katherine.
Beginning in medias res, the sonnet reveals Milton’s dream in which he sees deceased Woodcock in the first quatrain. The word, methought (1), suggests a dream-like uncertainty to readers as if unveiling Milton’s affliction and remembrance of his wife without reserve since dreams are the cinematic expression of subconsciousness. Followed by the Greek myth of Alcestis and Admetus, the reunion extends to a dramatic and surreal scenario beyond spatiotemporality. In Greek mythology, Alcestis, the wife of King Admetus, sacrificed herself to die in Admetus’ stead. Moved by Admetus’ anguish and love, Heracles, son of Zeus (Jove), grappled with Thanatos for rescuing Alcestis and brought her back to Admetus.
The use of Alcestis as a metonym for Woodcock is considered precise since it can be deduced that it would take exceptional effort for her to take good care of not only her blind husband but also her stepchildren. Her sacrifice for love is evident. The mythological allusion, indeed, betokens Woodcock’s resurrection, but some might wonder who or what the character of Heracles represents in reality. I believe it is Milton’s remembrance. Scientifically, the strenuous, day-and-night remembrance by force (4) scored in his subconsciousness and thus, created the temporary reunion of the couple. Why temporary? The pale[ness] and faint[ness] (4) implies that death still surrounds Woodcock, and the reunion will not last. However how much time they have, Milton’s happiness overwhelmed his reason, and he does not seem to care.
1. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.
3. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
4. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.
(Leviticus 12 (KJV))
The biblical allusion in the second quatrain insinuates not only the birth of Milton’s child but also his religious background. The significance of his belief lies beyond the sonnet. When one experiences inconceivable torments, religion could very likely be the sole way to cope with the incapability of withstanding misery. I do not ascribe the allusion to Milton’s godliness but his wounded heart that pines for emotional support. Milton’s blindness further made his sufferings unbearable, and therefore, he reinforces his belief with ‘[…] I trust to have / Full sight of her in Heaven without restraint’ (7, 8).
The structure of an Italian sonnet (derived from the rhyme scheme, i.e., abbaabba) denotes the presence of a volta in line 9. This is the time when Woodcock is materialised to be first truly presented to readers. Woodcock who resurrects and ‘[comes] vested all in white’ (9), at that time, possesses certain traits of the Virgin Mary by looking at the use of epithets, e.g., ‘love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shin’d’ (11). The fact that Milton never saw Woodcock, as he became blind before meeting her, not only leaves him the purest and flawless imagination of Woodcock but also forbids him to see her face, even in his dream; thus he wrote ‘her face was veil’d’ (10) and ‘in no face’ (12). Nonetheless, the paradoxicality of him seeing ‘love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shin’d’ (11) stresses the immortal qualities of Woodcock.
Although the scene in the couplet is presented in mime, the physical expression of love transcends the abilities of language as in ‘she embrace me she inclin’d’ (13). That is the sole thing for one whose beloved died can ever wish. The sentiment is so sincere and moving that readers who never lose anyone they love would be able to feel the hope and pain. What follows is the most astounding and elegiac line in the sonnet or even in poetry, ‘I wak’d, she fled, and day brought back my night’ (14), expounding the great grief. Knowing that the reunion is ephemeral, Milton must eventually admit and accept the cruel fact that he is kicked back into the reality in which not only his wife is never coming back but also his eyesight. The sudden dark image devastates the white, bright, paradisal tone, inverting the original setting.
What most affecting in the sonnet, to me, is not the loss of beloved but the ways to deal with mortals’ inabilities. Saying that remembrance is men’s most potent means to cope with death and sufferings and then realising that the effect of such a means is trivial may be paradoxical, but it is, de facto, the most human thing that we humans do. The struggles will never come to an end. After all, we all have to admit that beautiful things are always a flash in a pan; in other words, fleeting. Cherish what you have at the moment before losing and regretting in eternal pain.
