For Lycidas your sorrow is not dead, Sunk though he be beneath the watery floor; So sinks the day-star in the ocean bed; And yet anon repairs his drooping head, And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore Flames in the forehead of the morning sky. So Lycidas sunk low, but mounted high, Through the dear might of him that walked the waves.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Compares the death and resurrection of a person to the daily cycle of the sun.
- In plain terms
- Like the sun sets and rises, the dead may rise again.
- What can you take from it?
- Death may be followed by renewal or resurrection.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do you believe in life after death?
- How do you view renewal?
Another view
It relies on theological beliefs not shared by all.
More from John Milton
Look homeward, Angel, now, and melt with ruth.
Permalink to quote #112 He touch'd the tender stops of various quills, With eager thought warbling his Doric lay.
Permalink to quote #114 Whether beyond the stormy Hebrides, Where thou perhaps under the whelming tide Visit'st the bottom of the monstrous world.
Permalink to quote #111
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