L'Allegro Essay Questions

What role does light play in "L'Allegro"?

"L'Allegro" is often thought of as Milton's "day" poem, because many of the scenes in the poem take place during the day, but the poem doesn't fit its designation perfectly. "L'Allegro" plunges into night when the speaker describes the lark singing in the early morning, country dances in the evening, dinner with peasants, and dreams of castles late at night. More than Milton is interested in day or night, he's interested in the shift between the two. He sets many of the scenes in "L'Allegro" at dawn or dusk, the moment when the light changes. For that reason, it might be more appropriate to call "L'Allegro" a poem of "half light."

Why does the speaker allude to Orpheus at the end of "L'Allegro"?

Though Orpheus doesn't appear until the end of "L'Allegro," Milton builds the structure of the poem around his story. Just as Orpheus tries to lead his wife out of the underworld, the speaker in "L'Allegro" tries to lead Mirth away from the darkness of Melancholy. Milton emphasizes the parallel between the two stories by describing Melancholy as the child of Cerberus, the dog that guards the underworld, and by personifying Mirth as a muse the speaker calls to join him. It's fitting that the speaker alludes to Orpheus, who ultimately fails to save his wife, the moment before his own poem comes to an end. Like Orpheus, the speaker fails to capture his muse forever.