Milton in Context

Catalog description

Celebrated today for his epic poem Paradise Lost and for an astonishing body of lyric and dramatic poetry, John Milton was known during his own time as a writer of controversial prose. As a cabinet member in the Commonwealth government (1649-1660), he wrote about such topics as tyranny, censorship, and religious freedom before composing most of the poems that made him famous. This course will consider Milton's poetry and prose, and the contexts that influenced its production, reception, and interpretation. Its focus will shift from one semester to another, as different works and contexts are emphasized. This fulfills the pre-1789 period elective category.