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 Lady of the Lake (poem) Nation".) But, the Fiery cross or "Crann Tara" was a device for rallying people in Scotland and did not carry racist connotations. Gioachino Rossini composed an opera, "La Donna del Lago", based on the poem. The opera downplays the other plots in favor of the love story. In the opera, James Douglas tells Ellen that she must marry Roderick Dhu. Some of the characters' names are changed slightly: Roderick Dhu becomes Rodrigo, Ellen becomes Elena, and James Fitz-James becomes Uberto. Walter Scott's poem, in the German translation by Adam Storck, was set to music by Franz Schubert in his work