John Milton’s formidable reputation-as the most brilliant and demanding poet of his era, a powerful influence on later British and American writers, and a difficult human being-may intimidate rather than attract modern readers. But Milton also described poetry as simple, sensuous, and passionate, and his own verse is as richly beautiful and satisfying as any written in English. A man of contradictory talents and impulses, Milton has been called a political radical and an arch conservative, a misogynist and a poet of mutuality, a defender of the faith and a grand heretic, an advocate of human dignity and an apologist for Hebraic-Christian patriarchy, a great synthesizer of classical and biblical traditions and someone who departed from and shaped conventions.

In an attempt to find the reality behind these conflicting accounts, we will study Milton’s development as a poet and craftsman, as a writer of pastoral, sonnet, masque, ode, epic, drama, and prose; observe the progress of his self-discovery; learn something about the political, religious, and literary context in which he wrote; become aware of the conventions available to him and the use he made of them; and aim at understanding the ways in which his concerns resemble ours and depart from them. Our goal is intellectual encounter, informed judgment, and, finally, pleasure.

There will be some lecture and a good deal of discussion. Besides close reading of the texts, requirements for the course are likely to include some informal writing, two papers, a midterm and a final examination. Although a knowledge of poetry or Renaissance literature is helpful in reading Milton, students with an interest in classical mythology, biblical literature, or early modern history are also welcome.