Comus

Comus is an early work by English 17th-century poet John Milton, in collaboration with composer Henry Lawes. Originally titled A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634, it was published anonymously in 1637 and under Milton’s name in 1645. Comus was commissioned for the inauguration of the Earl of Bridgewater as Lord President of Wales, and the earl’s three children played leading roles in the performance. The work is an allegory that blends classical mythology with Christian doctrine and morality. The conflict is between chastity, embodied in the virtuous Lady who gets lost in a wood, and Comus, a sorcerer, who represents sensual indulgence and temptation. Comus captures the Lady and tempts her with a magical potion that would overthrow her sense of reason and virtue. She unwaveringly resists the temptation and is freed through divine intervention and grace. Through this narrative, the work explores themes of Virtue Versus Vice, Reason Versus Instinct, Ever-Present Divine Grace, and The Invincible Nature of Chastity.

The edition of the poem used in this study guide is from Milton: Poetical Works, edited by Douglas Bush, Oxford University Press, 1974, pp. 112-39. The text can also be found at Project Gutenberg, which reproduces an 1891 edition edited by William Bell.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, graphic violence, gender discrimination, substance use, sexual harassment, sexual violence, rape, sexual content, and antigay bias.

Poet Biography

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

English poet John Milton was born on December 9, 1608, in London. His father was a scrivener, a position that involved drawing up legal documents and also dealt in real estate. Milton attended St. Paul’s School and then Christ’s College, Cambridge, from where he graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1629 and a master’s degree in 1632. He was known for his mastery of languages, including Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and modern European languages. Following his graduation, he spent six years studying at the family home, reading intensely. Among his early poems are “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity,” which he wrote at the age of 21. The companion poems “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso,” which contrast cheerfulness and thoughtfulness, were written around 1631, and A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634 followed. It was later titled Comus. Another well-known poem, “Lycidas,” was published in 1638, the same year that Milton traveled in Continental Europe, mainly Italy. 

Milton was a Puritan, a Protestant who sought to reform the Church of England by “purifying” it of lingering Catholic elements. For a variety of reasons, ranging from suspicion of church hierarchy to the monarchy’s perceived Catholic sympathies, Puritanism tended to dovetail with anti-monarchism. Thus, as the English Civil War pitted royalists against parliamentarians throughout the 1640s, Milton developed a reputation as a pamphleteer with a radical outlook. After his wife, Mary Powell, left him a few weeks into their marriage in 1642, he wrote a number of pamphlets arguing that divorce should be permissible on grounds of incompatibility. This was far from the norms of the day, and Milton’s position gained little support. In the pamphlet Areopagitica (1644), Milton called for freedom of the press, and in other pamphlets published after the 1649 execution of King Charles I, he supported the execution. During the rule of Oliver Cromwell, Milton served as Latin Secretary in the Council of State.  

In 1652, Milton’s wife died. This was also the year that Milton went completely blind; his vision had been deteriorating since about 1644. He married Katherine Woodcock in 1656, but two years later, she died in childbirth. In 1660, the English monarchy was restored, and Charles II ascended the throne. Milton was briefly imprisoned, and much of his property was confiscated. 

Milton married for the third time in 1663, this time to Elizabeth Minshull. He then set about completing his greatest work, the epic poem, Paradise Lost, which was published in 1667. Paradise Regained and the closet drama (that is, a play that is not intended to be performed on the stage) Samson Agonistes followed in 1671. Milton died in London on November 8, 1674, at the age of 65. 

Poem Text

Milton, John. Comus. 1634. Project Gutenberg.

Summary

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, and sexual content.

The Attendant Spirit has been sent by Jove, the king of the gods, to protect the children of a noble who are walking through a dark wood on their way to their father’s castle. In the wood is Comus, the son of Bacchus, the god of wine and merry-making, and the nymph Circe. He is an evil magician who gives people a potion that transforms them into monsters with animal heads. When Comus enters with his riotous, noisy followers, he senses the presence of the Lady nearby and takes the form of a friendly villager. The Lady enters; she has been separated from her two brothers in the wood. Comus offers to help her find them. 

Elder Brother and Second Brother enter. The younger brother laments the fact that they have lost their sister in the wood and that she might be in danger. Elder Brother, however, insists that her chastity is her hidden strength and that no one would dare to touch her.

The Attendant Spirit enters disguised as the family’s shepherd, Thyrsis. He warns the brothers that Comus is in the wood and poses a danger to the Lady. Elder Brother says that he will rescue her, and the Spirit gives him a medicinal plant to protect him. 

In a change of scene, the Lady is bound magically to a chair in a palace. Comus offers her his magic potion, but she refuses it. He tries to persuade her about the delights of sensual enjoyment, but the Lady continues to resist. Resolving to overcome her, he offers her the potion once again, but at that point, the brothers rush in with swords drawn. Comus and his coterie escape, but the Lady is still bound to the chair. 

The Attendant Spirit summons the goddess Sabrina, who sprinkles drops from a fountain onto the Lady, which frees her from the spell, and she rises from the seat. The Spirit leads her out of the woods to Ludlow Castle and delivers an epilogue in praise of virtue.