How A-Muse-ing

I find the most interesting aspects of Paradise Lost to be Milton's use of language and the context that surrounds the language within the writing. What I mean is that Milton makes clear early in the epic that he is speaking the words that are brought to him through a "Heav'nly Muse". This Muse is not specifically given name, but the idea that verse and elevated language come from the divine property of the Muse seem appropriate and coincide with the subject that Milton is writing about.

Despite the difficult language in Paradise Lost, we are given what is almost a short summary at the beginning of Book One which made it significantly easier for me to follow the movement of the first section. It is my interpretation that the form that Milton writes in (be it his own voice or that of the Muse) is meant to be eloquent and in this way demonstrating the importance of the divine nature of the content. The summary couldn't help me all the way through, however, as there are plenty of what I assume are biblical allusions that I am just not familiar with.

Another aspect of this epic that I found important is the way meter is included without rhyme. Although this is also found in Beowulf and The Odyssey, it is specifically stated before Book One in the section titled The Verse that the English language's modern "bondage" to rhyme is "troublesome" and there is a reason why Milton chose to forgo the use of rhyme in Paradise Lost. Although I am not sure if this section was written by Milton himself, it addresses the lack of rhyme in Milton's verse and states the belief that truly elevated language is muddied or made less eloquent by the "jingling" sound of "like endings". While I don't disagree or agree with this statement particularly, I do find it interesting that this was an idea that people shared. It is stated that the carefully chosen number of syllables and the way they are carried from one verse to the next is what truly makes powerful language in poetry and this certainly reflects in Milton's writing. I am inclined to agree that had Milton chosen to write Paradise Lost entirely in rhyming meter, it would not have this same quality of sound that makes it so grand.