Context: John Milton tells Mirth to come dancing to him, making grotesque or whimsical patterns with her feet in contrast to the stately measures of court dances. And in her right hand she is to lead Liberty, which Milton associates with the Oreads, or mountain nymphs of Greek mythology. The poet says that if he pays the honor due her, she is to admit him to her band of revelers so that he can lead a life of innocent gaiety. He wants to hear the lark begin to sing in the dark of early morning and then come to greet him in his window, while the barnyard cock scatters the last darkness of night with his crowing. The passage is as follows: