[98. Lycæus and Cyllene], mountains of Arcadia.
[100. Erymanth.] Erymanthus is a range of mountains separating Arcadia from Achaia and Elis.
[102. Mænalus], another mountain of Arcadia.
[106. Though Syrinx your Pan’s mistress were.] Syrinx was an Arcadian nymph, who, being pursued by Pan, threw herself into the Ladon, where she was metamorphosed into a reed, of which the shepherds thereafter made their pipes.
AT A SOLEMN MUSIC.
The poet listens to what in the phrase of his time is a solemn music, but which we should name a sacred concert. The poem is unalloyed lyric, expressing the rapture to which the music has lifted his soul. We must remember that Milton was himself an amateur musician, and in his days of darkness found habitual diversion at his organ. Indications of a susceptible and appreciative ear for musical harmony are frequent throughout the poems.
[7. the sapphire-colored throne.] See Ezekiel I 26.
[27. consort] is the word from which we derive our concert.
COMUS.
During the reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I., the mask was one of the most popular forms of dramatic entertainment. Having a function and a character peculiar to itself, it flourished side by side with the regular plays of the theatrical stage, and gave large scope to the genius of poets, composers, and scenic artists.