CHECK IT OUT - Video Course Description!

From his adolescence onward, John Milton (1608-1674) harbored a deep desire to become a great English poet. For him, that meant writing an epic poem, but before he could undertake such a task he felt obliged to study and read widely, and also experiment and work in a number of literary genres considered less demanding than epic. In this course, we will consider examples of Milton's early verse and prose before focusing on Paradise Lost and its sequel, Paradise Regained. Milton was never just a poet; he was, throughout his life, deeply engaged in politics and theology, a fervent believer in free speech, an early defender of divorce, and a daring opponent of the royal prerogative. All of these beliefs merit our attention as they shaped the poetry Milton wrote and made him an influential intellectual figure in both Europe and America. Paradise Lost remains a challenging, capacious, and dazzling poem, and students will emerge from this course with a thorough understanding of its complicated machinery.

This course fulfills the following English major/minor requirements: Pre-1642 + Poetry

Course Requirements:

A short paper (5-6 pages, 15% of final grade) on Milton's early verse will be assigned. Each student will participate in a group presentation on an epic precursor to Paradise Lost (10%). The final paper, 6-8 pages, will be on Paradise Lost (50%). There is no midterm or final exam. Class attendance and participation in our discussions will together make up 25% of the student's final grade.