The Oxford Handbook of Milton (Oxford Handbooks)

Contents List of Illustrations Note on the Text and List of Abbreviations Notes on Contributors Milton’s Life: Some Significant Dates PART I: LIVES 1. ‘Ere half my days’: Milton’s Life, 1608–1640 2. John Milton: The Later Life (1641–1674) PART II: SHORTER POEMS 3. The ‘adorning of my native tongue’: Latin Poetry and Linguistic Metamorphosis 4. Milton’s Early English Poems: The Nativity Ode, ‘L’Allegro’, ‘Il Penseroso’ 5. ‘A thousand fantasies’: The Lady and the Maske 6. ‘Lycidas’ and the Influence of Anxiety 7. The Troubled, Quiet Endings of Milton’s English Sonnets PART III: CIVIL WAR PROSE, 1641–1645 8. The Anti-Episcopal Tracts: Republican Puritanism and the Truth in Poetry 9. ‘A Law in this matter to himself ’: Contextualizing Milton’s Divorce Tracts 10. Whose Liberty? The Rhetoric of Milton’s Divorce Tracts 11. Milton, Areopagitica, and the Parliamentary Cause 12. Areopagitica and Liberty PART IV: REGICIDE, REPUBLICAN, AND RESTORATION PROSE, 1649–1673 13. ‘The strangest piece of reason’: Milton’s Tenure of Kings and Magistrates 14. Milton’s Regicide Tracts and the Uses of Shakespeare 15. John Milton, European: The Rhetoric of Milton’s Defences 16. Defensio Prima and the Latin Poets 17. ‘Nothing nobler then a free Commonwealth’: Milton’s Later Vernacular Republican Tracts 18. Disestablishment, Toleration, the New Testament Nation: Milton’s Late Religious Tracts 19. Milton and National Identity PART V: WRITINGS ON EDUCATION, HISTORY, THEOLOGY 20. The Genres of Milton’s Commonplace Book 21. Milton, the Hartlib Circle, and the Education of the Aristocracy 22. Conquest and Slavery in Milton’s History of Britain 23. De Doctrina Christiana: An England that Might Have Been PART VI: PARADISE LOST 24. Writing Epic: Paradise Lost 25. ‘A mind of most exceptional energy’: Verse Rhythm in Paradise Lost 26. Editing Milton: The Case against Modernization 27. The ‘World’ of Paradise Lost 28. Paradise Lost and Heresy 29. God 30. Eve, Paradise Lost, and Female Interpretation 31. The Politics of Paradise Lost PART VII: 1671 POEMS: PARADISE REGAINED AND SAMSON AGONISTES 32. ‘Englands Case’: Contexts of the 1671 Poems 33. Paradise Regained and the Memory of Paradise Lost 34. Samson Agonistes and ‘Single Rebellion’ 35. Samson Agonistes: The Force of Justice and the Violence of Idolatry 36. Samson Agonistes and Milton’s Sensible Ethics PART VIII: ASPECTS OF INFLUENCE 37. Milton Epic and Bucolic: Empire and Readings of Paradise Lost, 1667–1837 38. Miltonic Romanticism Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Ere half my days : Milton's life, 1608-1640 / Edward Jones John Milton : the later life (1641-1674) / Nicholas von Maltzahn The adorning of my native tongue : Latin poetry and linguistic metamorphosis / Estelle Haan Milton's early English poems : The nativity ode, L'allegro, Il penseroso / Gordon Teskey A thousand fantasies : the lady and the Maske / Ann Baynes Coiro Lycidas and the influence of anxiety / Nicholas McDowell The troubled, quiet endings of Milton's English sonnets / John Leonard The anti-Episcopal tracts : republican Puritanism and the truth in poetry / Nigel Smith A law in this matter to himself : contextualizing Milton's divorce tracts / Sharon Achinstein Whose liberty? : the rhetoric of Milton's divorce tracts / Diane Purkiss Milton, Areopagitica, and the parliamentary cause / Ann Hughes Areopagitica and liberty / Blair Hoxby The strangest piece of reason : Milton's Tenure of kings and magistrates / Stephen M. Fallon Milton's regicide tracts and the uses of Shakespeare / Nicholas McDowell John Milton, European : the rhetoric of Milton's defences / Joad Raymond Defensio prima and the Latin poets / Estelle Haan Nothing nobler then a free commonwealth : Milton's later vernacular republican tracts / N.H. Keeble Disestablishment, toleration, the New Testament nation : Milton's late religious tracts / Elizabeth Sauer Milton and national identity / Paul Stevens The genres of Milton's Commonplace book / William Poole Milton, the Hartlib circle, the education of the aristocracy / Timothy Raylor Conquest and slavery in Milton's History of Britain / Martin Dzelzainis De doctrina Christiana : an England that might have been / Gordon Campbell and Thomas N. Corns Writing epic : Paradise lost / Charles Martindale A mind of most exceptional energy : verse rhythm in Paradise lost / John Creaser Editing Milton : the case against modernization / Stephen B. Dobranski The world of Paradise lost / Karen L. Edwards Paradise lost and heresy / Nigel Smith God / Stuart Curran Eve, Paradise lost, and female interpretation / Susan Wiseman The politics of Paradise lost / Martin Dzelzainis Englands case : contexts of the 1671 poems / Laura Lunger Knoppers Paradise regained and the memory of Paradise lost / John Rogers Samson agonistes and single rebellion / R.W. Serjeantson Samson agonistes : the force of justice and the violence of idolatry / Regina M. Schwartz Samson agonistes and Milton's sensible ethics / Elizabeth D. Harvey Milton epic and bucolic : empire and readings of Paradise lost, 1667-1837 / Anne-Julia Zwierlein Miltonic romanticism / Joseph Wittreich. Four hundred years after his birth, John Milton remains one of the greatest and most controversial figures in English literature. The Oxford Handbook of Milton is a comprehensive guide to the state of Milton studies in the early twenty-first century, bringing together an international team of thirty-five leading scholars in one volume. The rise of critical interest in Milton's political and religious ideas is the most striking aspect of Milton studies in recent times, a consequence in great part of the increasingly fluid relations between literary and historical study. The Oxford Handbook both embodies the interest in Milton's political and religious contexts in the last generation and seeks to inaugurate a new phase in Milton studies through closer integration of the poetry and prose. There are eight essays on various aspects of Paradise Lost, ranging from its classical background and poetic form to its heretical theology and representation of God. There are sections devoted both to the shorter poems, including'Lycidas'and Comus, and the final poems, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. There are also three sections on Milton's prose: the early controversial works on church government, divorce, and toleration, including Areopagitica; the regicide and republican prose of 1649-1660, the period during which he served as the chief propagandist for the English Commonwealth and Cromwell's Protectorate, and the various writings on education, history, and theology. The opening essays explore what we know about Milton's biography and what it might tell us; the final essays offer interpretations of aspects of Milton's massive influence on later writers, including the Romantic poets. Four hundred years after his birth, John Milton remains one of the greatest and most controversial figures in English literature. The Oxford Handbook of Milton is a comprehensive guide to the state of Milton studies in the early twenty-first century, bringing together an international team of thirty-five leading scholars in one volume. The rise of critical interest in Milton's political and religious ideas is the most striking aspect of Milton studies in recent times, a consequence in great part of the increasingly fluid relations between literary and historical study. The Oxford Handbook both embodies the interest in Milton's political and religious contexts in the last generation and seeks to inaugurate a new phase in Milton studies through closer integration of the poetry and prose. There are eight essays on various aspects of Paradise Lost, ranging from its classical background and poetic form to its heretical theology and representation of God. There are sections devoted both to the shorter poems, including 'Lycidas' and Comus, and the final poems, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes . There are also three sections on Milton's the early controversial works on church government, divorce, and toleration, including Areopagitica ; the regicide and republican prose of 1649-1660, the period during which he served as the chief propagandist for the English Commonwealth and Cromwell's Protectorate, and the various writings on education, history, and theology. The opening essays explore what we know about Milton's biography and what it might tell us; the final essays offer interpretations of aspects of Milton's massive influence on later writers, including the Romantic poets.