《黎西达斯》是一首牧歌式的挽歌，是弥尔顿为哀悼其朋友爱德华·金的夭 亡而作的。但仅仅把这首诗看作是一首挽歌是远远不够的，事实上在哀悼 朋友的同时作者还表达了另外两个主题：反对英国教会；阐明自己对诗歌 的看法及心目中理想诗人的形象。这三个主题互为一体，紧密相联。 “Elixidis” is an idol-song of elegies, which Milton made to mourn the death of his friend Edward King. However, it is far from enough to regard this poem as an elegy. In fact, while mourning friends, the author also expresses two other themes: opposition to the English Church; elucidation of his own views on poetry and his idealistic poet Image. The three themes are closely interlinked.