MILTON'S NATIVITY POEM AND THE DECORUM OF GENRE

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although Milton's Nativity poem is usually considered to be an early example of the English ode, it is probably a literary hymn. In it the young poet is consciously emulating and reworking elements traditionally associated with literary hymns. Viewed from this generic perspective, the Nativity poem is, as a poem, a lofty "hymn" (17), and at the same time, devotionally considered, a "humble ode" (24). Milton's fiction of his muse presenting his hymn as a gift to the Christ-child is neither original nor particularly fanciful. Rather, it is a version of a commonplace of the hymn tradition. The traditional uses of feigned liturgical occasions to introduce literary hymns explain some of the ways in which the Nativity poem may be considered liturgical. The important function of narrative in previous literary hymns and in Renaissance critical theory about hymns also provides the standard for evaluating the importance and function of narrative in the Nativity poem. Finally, the prominence of the pagan gods in the Nativity hymn is best explained by the Renaissance controversy concerning the revival of an essentially pagan literary form. Milton's Christian hymn incorporates, while nullifying, its pagan predecessors and competitors.