The Critical Response to John Milton's Paradise LostTimothy Miller Bloomsbury Academic, 1997 M04 22 - 337 pages Paradise Lost was recognized as a major epic poem soon after its publication in 1667. For more than three centuries, critics have been describing, interpreting, and evaluating it. Regardless of their approaches to changing literary values, they have generally accepted it as the prime example of the epic in English. As many critics have observed, the poem brought biblical, literary, cultural, social, scientific, and political elements into such aesthetic harmony that even its detractors have been forced to recognize its greatness. And because of its complexity, it has become a test case in literary studies as a focal point for changing critical assumptions and literary values. This reference book traces the critical reception of Paradise Lost from the 17th century to the present. The volume is organized in chapters devoted to particular centuries, with each chapter presenting a selection of reviews and critical essays from that period. Thus the reader is able to chart the changing response to ^IParadise Lost^R over time. An introductory essay summarizes the reception of Milton's work, and a bibliography lists important sources of additional information. |
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... Virgil , than whom I do not believe any Man can have a greater Genius . When I say that Milton excels Virgil , I mean , that he does so sometimes , both in his Thought , and in his Spirit , purely by the Advantage of his Religion . But ...
... Virgil's God is inferior to Milton's Angel . ' Tis true , I know very well , that it may be urg'd in Virgil's Behalf , That he does not pretend to set down Silenus ' s Song , but only the principal Heads of it ; whereas Milton makes the ...
... Virgil is the most scrupulous in this respect ; and towards the inevitable change , which Milton completed and perfected from Camoëns and Tasso , Virgil took a great step in making Jupiter professedly almighty . But compare Virgil's ...
Contents
Milton and the Telescope | 14 |
Dominant Residual | 18 |
An Essay Upon the Civil Wars of France And also Upon | 23 |
Copyright | |
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