5 h 11 minAudiobook3 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if temptation speaks sweetly, offers a feast, and asks you to surrender your judgment?
In John Milton's Comus, the Lady loses her way in a dark wood while travelling with her two brothers. She wants to reach her father's house. Comus, a charming enchanter, has other plans: he uses pleasure and flattery to draw travellers into his power.
As her brothers search, they debate whether a pure mind can keep someone safe. The Attendant Spirit seeks to guide the children home. This masque brings verse, song and dramatic argument together, setting the Lady's clear judgment against Comus's persuasive words. The danger tests not only her safety, but her freedom to choose.
What you’ll discover
- A song in darkness Meet the Lady as she sings in the wood, lost but clear in mind.
- Pleasure with a hidden purpose Enter Comus's world of music and delicacies, where charm serves a dangerous purpose.
- Two brothers, different fears Follow their search as confidence in virtue meets urgent concern about the night.
- A fierce exchange of ideas Hear the Lady defend restraint, shared plenty and the wise use of nature's gifts.
- Light, darkness and song Discover how blank verse, rhymed magic and lyrics give this moral struggle its shape.
Who will love it
For readers who love poetry, seventeenth century England, and stories where a moral question is argued on stage. It also suits anyone curious about Milton before Paradise Lost.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A spirit descends to a dangerous wood
- The Lady loses her way and sings
- Two brothers argue about safety and virtue
- Comus offers a feast and a chair
- Temperance answers excess, and the masque answers with light
Who’s who
- The LadyThe elder sister, lost in the wood at night. She is gentle, brave and clear in mind, and she wants to reach her father's house.
- ComusThe enchanter, son of Circe and Bacchus. He rules the wood with a charmed cup and wants to win travelers over with flattery and pleasure.
- The Elder BrotherA confident young man who believes that a pure mind is its own protection, and who searches for his sister.
- The Younger BrotherThe more fearful brother, who worries about the dangers of the night and wants to find his sister quickly.
- The Attendant SpiritA guardian sent from heaven in the guise of a shepherd called Thyrsis. He wants to bring the children safely to their father.
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Milton's Comus
by John Milton · 1637
Lost in a dark wood, a young woman faces a charming magician who tries to win her over with pleasure and flattery.
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In short
Can you stay good when nobody is watching and temptation speaks beautifully? John Milton asks exactly that in Comus, a masque first performed in 1634 at Ludlow Castle.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A spirit descends to a dangerous wood
The Attendant Spirit steps down from heaven to the dark earth, dressed as a shepherd. He has come to guard them.
He names the ruler of this wood. Comus is the son of the sorceress Circe and the wine god Bacchus. His charmed cup makes travelers forget their homes, and their faces turn into the heads of beasts.
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What is Milton's Comus about?
It tells of a young woman lost in a dark wood who meets the enchanter Comus. He tries to tempt her with pleasure and flattery, and she answers with reason and faith. Her brothers and a guardian spirit try to help her.
What is a masque?
A masque was a courtly entertainment of the 1500s and 1600s that combined verse, music, dance, costume and scenery. It often flattered a noble host. Milton gave this form a serious moral argument.
Who is Comus in Milton's poem?
Comus is an enchanter, the son of the sorceress Circe and the wine god Bacchus. He lives in a wild wood and offers travelers a magic cup that turns their faces into those of beasts.
The author
John Milton
1608–1674 · English poet
John Milton (1608–1674) was an English poet and civil servant who lived mainly in London. He wrote poetry and prose, including Comus (1634), Areopagitica (1644), Paradise Lost (1667), and Paradise Regained (1671). He served as secretary for foreign tongues under England’s Commonwealth government. He became blind in 1652.
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