HASHES OUT the State of the Show. October is a month of transition here on the program. We look forward to upcoming Halloween and speak of seasonal matters. Other things emerge, such as a loving reminiscence about the deep universe of candy and all forms of confectioner's sugar. Later, Dr. H. Owll performs John Milton's poem L'Allegro. The two similar and contrasting poems, L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, explore in generic terms the ideal pleasures appropriate to contrasting philosophical approaches. In particular, L'Allegro celebrates the spirit of Mirth and Levity, Euphrosyne, through the traditional Theocritan model. Old hat, you say? Well, maybe now, sure, but in the Seventeenth Century a very fresh development of the Pastoral ideal. The poem is playful, actually, and is set within a rural, countrified scene that allows the main character, Milton the poet, to connect with folk stories and fairy tales in addition to various comedic plays and performances. There is a sort of progression from the pleasures found in L'Allegro with the pleasures found within Il Penseroso. Besides being set in a traditional form, there is no poetic antecedent for Milton's pairing. It's difficult when reciting this work not to veer unconsciously into its twin-- to slip from L'Allegro into Il Penseroso without intending to... But I got through it without doing that. The poem invokes "heart-easing" Mirth and other allegorical figures of joy and merriment, and extols the active and cheerful life, while depicting a day in the countryside according to this philosophy. Mirth, as one of the Graces, is connected with poetry within Renaissance literature, and the poem, in its form and content, is similar to dithyrambs to Bacchus or hymns to lovely Venus. (Never insult that Goddess.) However, the pleasure that Mirth brings is moderated, and there is a delicate balance between the influence of Venus or Bacchus achieved by relying on their daughter, presented in a strangely quasi-sexual context. So watch out, because in some show coming up, you will hear the entirety of Il Penseroso, which is even longer. Some fun, eh? 180 minutes.