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 Nineveh The Fall of Nineveh The Fall of Nineveh is a long poem in blank verse by Edwin Atherstone. It consists of thirty books preceded by a Prelude. The poem was written over many years and published 1828-1868. It tells of the battles and events during the war between the coalition of Medes and Babylonians against the Assyrians. The main heroes are Sardanapalus, King of Nineveh and of all the Assyrian empire; Arbaces, the prince of Medes; and a Babylonian priest, Belesis. Sardanapalus is portrayed as a womanizer, coward, and cruel tyrant. When defeated by Arbaces he burns his own palace