ENGL 335-01, Milton, Spring 1999

Abstract

In this course we will examine all of Milton's major poetry, and some of the prose, and its relationship to a variety of contexts and traditions. Among the questions we will consider are those of genre (pastoral, masque, epic); of heritage (the uses of the classical and Biblical traditions); of the intellectual and literary tradition of Renaissance humanism; of the political, religious, and literary consequences of the Protestant Reformation and the Puritan Revolution in England; of responses, contemporaneous and subsequent, to Milton’s work. While the volume of reading is not especially heavy, the poetry requires, and repays, careful reading and rereading. I encourage you to come to class armed with questions--whether specific ("What does this line mean?"), general ("Why are there so many allusions?"), or cosmic ("What’s the big deal about Milton?"); and I expect that you will come ready to discuss the questions that others raise.