1. At the beginning of the passage, the speaker invokes the Muses for inspiration towards the poem to be written in memory of Lycidas. The speaker then mentions that by doing so, someone might in turn mourn the speaker in the same way once he himself has passed on. The speaker dedicates the next stanza to reminding himself, as well as the readers, of his personal connection to Lycidas, mentioning how they "were nursed upon the self-same hill, / Fed the same flock" (Lines 23-24). Common pastoral experiences and images such as rising early to tend their flocks and working "Oft till the star that rose, at evening... / had sloped his westering wheel" (30-31) are highlighted as the speaker recounts his time spent with Lycidas. The speaker relates how, despite their grueling work, the shepherds would sing and dance together much to the pleasing eye of Damoetas, a seasoned veteran of pastoral life.

2. This passage is important to the larger work because it provides valuable insight into how "Lycidas" can be viewed as a pastoral poem. Milton portrays the wonder that exists within humble pastoral life through lines 15-36. There seems to be an image of awakening and birth that go along with this simple lifestyle. Milton uses words and phrases such as "nursed" (Line 23), "Fed" (Line 24), and "opening eyelids" (Line 26) to suggest that the countryside and perhaps the friendship between Lycidas and the speaker give life, inspiration, and meaning to their humble existences.

     This passage is also responsible for setting up the relationship between Lycidas and the speaker for the rest of the poem. This section of the poem enlightens the reader to the closeness of these two shepherds. Though the fact that this poem is a pastoral elegy may already suggest that these shepherds had a close relationship, (and this is certainly suggested several times throughout the rest of the poem) this passage allows the reader a glimpse of their lives together while Lycidas still lived, whereas the rest of the poem deals only with Lycidas after his death.

     Finally, lines 15-36 shed light on the beneficial importance of art. While the shepherds engage in difficult labor for long hours each day, they find happiness and a common understanding through music and dance (Lines 32-35). These lines point to the universal idea that art is something that even humble shepherds can appreciate and comprehend.

3. The central focus of this passage is essentially an opening to both the poem as a pastoral elegy and to the speaker's relationship with Lycidas.

     Milton makes it very clear from the start of this passage that the poem is a pastoral elegy. The first line "Begin then, sisters of the sacred well" (15) is an invocation of the muses, a common convention in pastoral elegies. Milton chose to name the older guide to the shepherds Damoetas, which is a conventional pastoral name, so that the reader gets a deeper sense of the authentic pastoral setting. By choosing words such as "flock" (Line 24), "gray-fly winds" (Line 28), "rural" (Line 32), and "fauns" (Line 34), Milton portrays a pastoral sense throughout this section as these words inspire natural images of animals, landscape, and weather, all factors in a shepherd's daily routine.

     To establish the nature of the speaker's relationship with Lycidas, Milton makes many specific vocabulary choices within lines 25-30. Twice, the speaker refers to himself and and Lycidas as "together" (25, 27) and "both," (25, 27) indicating that their relationship is close. They wake up and drive their flocks together, spend their days together, then return home with their flocks together. The speaker also refers to himself and Lycidas with the first person plural pronouns "we" (27) and "our" (29), rather than "Lycidas and I," signifying again that their relationship is very close. Milton does not even separate their persons when referring to them. Finally, in line 30, Milton uses the word "Oft," suggesting that the events of these six lines were a common occurrence between the speaker and Lycidas; it is possible that these two shepherds did this everyday. Certainly, their relationship was very close.

     Milton also uses rhyme, meter and rhythm to characterize the relationship of the speaker and Lycidas in these six lines. They are constructed loosely in iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of ababcc, which is very reminiscent of a Shakespearean sonnet. The iambs give this passage a fast and simple rhythm, forcing it from the lips with quickness and ease, which may very well resemble the relationship of Lycidas and the speaker before Lycidas' death. More significantly, these iambs also sounds methodical, suggesting that the speaker and Lycidas carried out these events constantly, just as Milton's use of the word "Oft" in line 30 suggests.

4. Question 1: What is the significance of mentioning how art plays a role in the lives of the shepherds? (Lines 32-36).

Question 2: Does the shift of verb tense from present tense to past tense in line 23 signal the speaker's shift in topic from what he hopes will happen after his own death to the memories of his time with Lycidas? Or does this shift occur in line 25 when the new stanza begins? Depending on where this shift occurs, how can lines 23 and 24 be interpreted differently?