Comparing Milton's Poems 'Allegro And Il Penseroso'

John Milton’s poems “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso” form a work of art known as a diptych, in which two parts are intended to be viewed side by side. “L’Allegro” illustrates a day in the life of the titular “happy man”, while “Il Penseroso” shows the nighttime pleasures of its own titular “pensive man”. These two poems mirror each other in both structure and imagery, providing an image of two contrasting ways in which a poet can enjoy their life.
In both “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso”, the poems progress in a clearly outlined form. Each poem begins with a dismissal, followed by an invocation, a genealogy, a procession, and an excursion. In each poem, the dismissal ousts the subject of its companion, with “L’Allegro” instructing “... loathèd Melancholy,/…Find out some uncouth cell/...In dark Cimmerian desert ever dwell.” (“L’Allegro” ll. 1-10), and “Il Penseroso” dismissing “...vain deluding Joys” (“Il Penseroso” l. 1). The theme established here of each poem providing a contrasting image of the other continues throughout the whole of the poems, with “L’Allegro” focusing on the pleasures of a spring day and “Il Penseroso” illustrating the delights of the nocturnal. Immediately following the

For example, the deities and religious themes present in each poem are quite distinct from one another and show the ways in which Milton connects religious views with disposition. In “L’Allegro”, images connected with Greco-Roman mythology, such as Venus, Bacchus, and Pluto surround its titular character. The happy man also hears stories told of “How fairy Mab the junkets eat” (l. 102) and “…how the drudging goblin [Puck] sweat/To earn his cream-bowl duly set,” (ll. 105-06); these pagan themes crop up throughout “L’Allegro”, and are starkly different from the religious themes presented in “Il