On the Late Massacre in Piedmont by John Milton

1. The age and sex of the speaker cannot be determined but it must be someone that is cognitive of the events that took place. They are very aware of the incident which is written about and have a keen sense of the injustice that was dealt to the Waldenses.
2. The speaker is addressing God.
3. I respond very favorably to the speaker. Not only because I am a Christian but also because I am sad to know that these types of injustices are meted out. The English Catholic Church persecuted then slaughtered the Waldenses, a group of dissenters from the Catholic Church. The Church thought them to be heretics because they taught that the Catholic Church was idolatrous and a number of other issues. The Church persecuted them then in April 1655, they slaughtered the Waldeneses. The speaker was shocked by this tragedy that a church could commit such a heinous deed.
4. The specific setting is Pra del Torno in northwest Italy and the date was Easter, (April) 1655.
5. Reading the poem aloud does help with the understanding of it.
6. Yes, a paraphrase does reveal the basic purpose of the poem.
7. The title of the poem emphasizes the actual event.
8. The theme, I believe, is presented directly.
9. Yes, the poem is full of allusions and each of them enriches the poem.
10. The diction is a mix of Middle and Informal I would say. The language of the time was relatively formal however it is clear that the speaker is pouring out his heart to God as one would plead with a Father. No words were repeated but there are several words that carry evocative connotative meaning. For example, when the speaker says “when all our fathers worshipped rocks and stones” that implies that they worshipped idols made with hands, representing a form of worship practiced by the Catholic Church.
11. There are figures of speech used by the speaker such as, “Even them who kept thy truth so pure of old” refers to the Waldenses.
12. The “triple Tyrant” refers to the Pope. Many Puritans believed that the Pope was the Anti-Christ and the referral to Babylon was a direct Scriptural referral to wickedness and the Puritans also believed that the Roman Catholic Church was “the whore of Babylon” as noted in our text.
13. I did not find any irony in this poem
14. The tone of the poem is serious and sad.
15. The poem does not use onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance or alliteration.
16. I did not recognize any repeated sounds or rhymes.
17. The lines in the poem do not have regular meter and the rhythm does seem appropriate for the poem.
18. The poem’s form does not follow an established pattern and it is suitable for the poem because it is about chaos and a severe tragedy.
19. The language is intense and definitely warrants more than one reading.
20. I enjoyed the poem because it is a historical poem and I love History.
21. The Historical Strategy, maybe cultural criticism, would be especially appropriate for this poem.
22. The biographical information about the author absolutely reveals the poem’s central concerns.
23. The historical information about the poem provides a useful context for the poem because we feel even more drawn in when we can see that the poem is written about an actual very tragic event in history.
24. My own values and beliefs inform my interpretation because I am a Christian and feel deeply saddened to see this kind of mistreatment among brethren.
25. The evidence from the poem I focus on to support my interpretation is the poem itself because it describes an actual event. I do not think my interpretation leaves out any important elements that may undercut or qualify my interpretation.
26. I interpreted this poem in a literal sense given the fact that it is a recollection of an actual event in which I do not think anyone would find justification for the slaughter.