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Description: |
This course will examine the literary career of one of the most accomplished, intriguing, and influential poets of the English language, John Milton. Milton thrived during a time when many of the most urgent conversations we are still having about democracy, empire, gender, race, individuality, religion, technology, work, and nature were first formulated. Keeping this context in mind, students will read Milton’s major lyric, epic, and dramatic poetry, focusing especially on Paradise Lost, his epic retelling of the primal rebellion of Satan against God, as well as a selection of his prose writings, including his influential attacks on state censorship and his still-radical defenses of revolutionary action. We will also examine Milton’s legacy, especially his profound importance for later writers like Phillis Wheatley, William Blake, and Mary Shelley. This course fulfills the Pre-1800 requirement for English majors. |