Chapter VI: The Style of Milton; and its Influence on English Poetry

The relation of Milton's work to the 17th-century "reforms" of verse
and prose; the Classicism of Milton, and of the Augustans;
Classic and Romantic schools contrasted in their descriptions;
Milton's Chaos, Shakespeare's Dover Cliff; Johnson's comments;
the besetting sins of the two schools; Milton's physical
machinery justified; his use of abstract terms; the splendid use
of mean associations by Shakespeare; Milton's wise avoidance of
mean associations, and of realism; nature of his similes and
figures; his use of proper names; his epic catalogues; his
personifications; loftiness of his perfected style; the
popularity of _Paradise Last_; imitations, adaptations, and
echoes of Milton's style during the 18th century; his enormous
influence; the origin of "poetic diction"; Milton's phraseology
stolen by Pope, Thomson, and Gray; the degradation of Milton's
style by his pupils and parodists 218

EPILOGUE

Milton's contemporaries; the poetry of Religion, and of Love; Henry
Vaughan; the Court lyrists; Milton's contempt for them; how they
surpass him; Sedley; Rochester; the prophet of the Lord and the
sons of Belial; unique position of Milton in the history of our
literature 256

Index 265