[Milton-L] Midgard Serpent and Leviathan

[Tony Demarest]

I believe that the serpent is referenced in Saemund's Poetic Edda- The Voluspa does mention it.Regarding Leviathan- I have always held that aside from size, the important inference of the simile is the notion of deceit- i.e. the fisherman unknowingly anchors next to the whale, but the whale is also ignorant of its interpretation by the fisherman, thereby implying Satan's duplicity and deceit are intrinsic, and even when subject to interpretation, remain constant.
Tony

> Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:22:59 -0400
> Subject: Re: [Milton-L] Midgard Serpent and Leviathan
> From: trleasure at gmail.com
> To: milton-l at lists.richmond.edu
> 
> Dear Dr. Lara,
> 
> Although you may find the footnote in the Riverside pertinent, I might
> also suggest you take a look at the the Old English Physiologus poem
> on the whale (from the Exeter Book), as well as the entry in the 12th
> century Latin Bestiary on the ocean monster called an "Aspido."  There
> is a similar account given of the whale's activity in the Voyage of
> St. Brendan though I don't have the citation for the passage at hand
> just now.
> 
> I'm particularly interested in your query since I have been working on
> and will likely continue to work on the late 18th/early 19th Icelandic
> translation/paraphrase of Paradise Lost in my research.  Initially I
> examined the invocations for a paper I delivered last July for the
> International Milton Symposium.  My idea now is to examine the Son on
> the Chariot of Paternal Deity as an analogue to Thor in his "wagon"
> (such as one finds not only in excerpts from the Prose Edda, but also
> in a couple verses in the Poetic Edda).
> 
> I hope I've been of some small help.
> 
> On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 4:06 PM, Lara Dodds <LDodds at english.msstate.edu> wrote:
>> Hello all:
>>
>>
>> A student asked if the sea-beast "haply slumbering on the Norway foam" (PL 1. 203) suggests an allusion or reference to the Midgard Serpent (or World Serpent).  In Norse mythology, this creature is so big that it encircles the earth and grasps its own tail. Also the Midgard Serpent is the enemy of Thor and will eventually be defeated by Thor (though Thor will also perish in the encounter).  I don't know much about these tales, but I believe the story of the Midgard Serpent can be found in the Prose Edda and other Old Norse or Icelandic texts.
>>
>> I didn't know the answer to my student's question, but knew someone on the list would.  Is allusion to the Midgard Serpent a plausible reason for Milton to locate the vignette of sea creature and pilot in Norway?
>>
>> Thanks for any thoughts on this matter or for references to sources which discuss this possibility.
>>
>> All the best,
>> Lara
>>
>> Dr. Lara A Dodds
>> English Department
>> Mississippi State University
>> 662-325-2344
>>
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> T. Ross Leasure
> Dept. of English
> Salisbury University
> Salisbury MD 21801
> 
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