Introduction
John Milton, who strived to "justify the ways of God to men" was unjustly justified by the renowned critic, TS Eliot. In his transcribed lecture Milton 1, Eliot severely criticized Milton. But in his second lecture, Eliot somewhat corrected his judgement and apologized for it. In Milton 1, Eliot criticized Milton's style as a great wall of China due to the use of abandoned diction and for the portrayal of his individual personality. It must be noted that Eliot, at that time, was against the ones whose poetry was subjective. But in Milton 2, Eliot admired the use of Blank Verse. Let's examine those remarks in detail.
Charges - Milton 1
The first defect that Eliot points out in the poetic personality of Milton is his blindness. Milton, at the time of writing Paradise Lost, entered into complete disconnection from the visual experience of the world. Eliot suggests that Milton's blindness might be a chief reason behind the lack of sensuous imagery that ultimately might have affected his language. Another limitation that Eliot asserts in his lecture is Milton's use of dead language. Thirdly, the words Milton chose lack meaningful expression. Fourthly, Milton ignored following the literary tradition of that time. In the concluding paragraph, Eliot somewhat accepts Milton's greatness but he still considers his poetry dangerous for the new poets to read because of Milton's lack of traditional value in his poetry.
Correction - Milton 2
As mentioned earlier, in the second lecture, Eliot corrected most of his "rushed" judgement of Milton's poetic genius. At first, Eliot criticized Milton for using language remote from the language of laymen. Now, Eliot accepts it as a distinct feature of Milton. He admits that the poetic diction Milton chose to decorate Paradise Lost shows his true talent. Secondly, Eliot asserted that Milton's blindness was a major factor behind his grotesque language. Later, Eliot considers Milton's blindness as a blessing in disguise. He further adds that it was through Milton's blindness that we received an unearthly description of the Garden of Eden. If Milton had been blessed with slight, we would have ended up with a limited world of Eden.
Commentary of Critics
These two lectures, especially the first one caused a significant uproar from the community of critics. Watson adds,
Both lectures are written in a convoluted style of qualification and reservation that grows more complex with the years, so that it is only by a narrow margin that the first lecture can be called an exercise in the qualified rejection of Milton, or the second one of qualified assent. There are three voices of T.S. Eliot, the critic: First, the youthful, exploratory enthusiasm of the twenties, where an almost ideal balance between poetic and critical activity is realized; second an abortive career of social and religious advocacy in frankly obscurantist causes; and third, a bold but exhausted attempt to recover the creative urge, followed at once by denial and desperation.
Watson beautifully sums the rhetoric behind Eliot's commentary on Milton.
Conclusion
Consequently speaking, Eliot's remarks on Milton are unjust on its first instalment but its second instalment somewhat clears the grudges of the devotees of Milton.
