...Into what Pit thou seest
From what highth fal'n, so much the stronger provd
He with his Thunder: and till then who knew
The force of those dire Arms? yet not for those
Nor what the Potent Victor in his rage
Can else inflict do I repent or change,
Though chang'd in outward lustre; that fixt mind
And high disdain, from sence of injur'd merit,
That with the mightiest rais'd me to contend,
And to the fierce contention brought along
Innumerable force of Spirits arm'd
That durst dislike his reign, and me preferring,
His utmost power with adverse power oppos'd
In dubious Battel on the Plains of Heav'n,
And shook his throne. What though the field be lost?
All is not lost; the unconquerable Will,
And study of revenge, immortal hate,
And courage never to submit or yield:
Paradise Lost -Book 1
Milton, John knows where he is standing for the meaning of not sounding the same. All those followed by 'they can't be seen from here'. What a waste or fine: something new he's trying or crying. Trust the muse and forget the rain plus rhyme! Can but heaven be near? There is nothing he can see clear -if anything supporting. Why isn't the earth sincere? What is there so forced to find? Fight the battle, hide the hate. Something he had to create. Been there, done that, simply fair. Or not.
Paradise Lost consisted of ten books (twelve in its 1674 revised version) of blank verse, Paradise Regained consists of only four.