The State of Innocence The State of Innocence The State of Innocence was intended to be performed as an opera, with the libretto written in 1674, (first published in 1677) by John Dryden. It is basically a musical stage adaptation of John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost", a tribute to Milton rather than a satire of the poem. That Dryden was an admirer of Milton's is surprising as the two men were politically opposed. Milton was against the restoration of the British monarchy, while the royalist Dryden was created England’s first Poet Laureate by the restored Charles II. So great an admirer of Milton
The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream, sometimes subtitled as "A Vision" instead of a dream, is an epic poem written by the English Romantic John Keats. Keats composed "The Fall of Hyperion" by reworking, expanding, and personally narrating lines from his earlier fragmented epic poem "Hyperion". The poem was abandoned before Keats's death. The poem begins with lyrical argument to introduce the work. In it, the narrator introduces the idea that the poem could be either a dream or a vision, and is unsure of which. The poem is divided into three scenes before