“Sing, Heavenly Muse,” (1.6) Milton begs, “I…invoke thy aid to my adventurous song” (1.12-13). Does the Muse answer? From Milton’s output—twelve books of verse, one book per apostle, one per tribe of Israel—one may believe so, but where in all of Paradise Lost does the Muse answer the poet’s call?
Perhaps in the line break [...]