The Connell guide to Milton's Paradise lost

著者

• Moore, Caroline

書誌事項

The Connell guide to Milton's Paradise lost

by Caroline Moore

Connell Guides, 2012

タイトル別名

Connell guide to John Milton's Paradise lost

The Connell guide to Paradise lost

注記

Includes bibliographical references and index

内容説明・目次

内容説明

Dr Johnson sums up the case against Milton: "the want of human interest is always felt." It is the apparent distance of Paradise Lost from ordinary humanity that has thrilled or repelled critics throughout the ages. While many readers are carried away by Milton's sublimity, others are daunted by his grandeur, scope and learning. Milton himself declared that he would not begin to write until he had "completed the full circle of my private studies". The Greek word for a circle of learning is the root of "encyclopaedia"; and Milton's erudition is encyclopaedic. Paradise Lost draws on both ancient learning and the scholarship of his day, displaying not only his deep knowledge of the Bible and Biblical scholarship, and his passionate assimilation of the classics, but also his absorption in astronomy, cosmology, geography, numerology and science. Yet many critics of Paradise Lost argue that all this circling lacks a human centre. Who, after all, is the hero? Adam and Eve in their unfallen state are too remote from us; Christ is not yet incarnate; God cannot be a character. Which leaves us with the magnificently problematic figure of Satan. In this fascinating study of Milton's great poem, Caroline Moore suggests that, contrary to what these critics argue, the core of Paradise Lost is extraordinarily human. Milton himself believed that poetry excelled at describing "the wily subtleties and refluxes of man's thought from within". This is precisely what Paradise Lost does. If, to a generation raised on the novel, Milton's methods of psychological exploration seem strange, this only intensifies the effect: Paradise Lost is a poem that explores the dark byways and infinite strangeness of the human heart.

目次

Introduction What is Paradise Lost about? How does Paradise Lost fit into the tradition of epic poetry? Is Milton's handling of Satan flawed? Why does Milton move away from drama to portray the moment of choice? How do Satan's soliloquies portray his loss of free choice? How does Milton portray the effects of false choice? Why is the 'psychology of delay' so important in Paradise Lost? What makes Eve visit the forbidden tree? Why does Satan use height to tempt Eve? How does Milton portray the counter-human nature of evil? How do Milton's politics affect his portrayal of choice? How is Milton's feeling of personal betrayal reflected in Paradise Lost? How does Milton portray a good decision? How does Milton use rhetoric to suggest the counter-logical nature of evil? How does Satan use rhetoric to beguile Eve? What finally makes Eve choose wrong? How does Milton portray the fall of Adam? Is Eve inferior to Adam? Is sex in Paradise innocent or dangerous? How much do Adam and Eve need each other? How innocent is Adam's passion for Eve? How does the relationship between Adam and Eve go wrong? How artful is Eve? What happens to Adam and Eve after the fall? Why have so many critics misread Paradise Lost?

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詳細情報

• NII書誌ID(NCID): BB20948431
• ISBN:
  • 9781907776106
• 出版国コード: uk
• タイトル言語コード: eng
• 本文言語コード: eng
• 出版地: Chippenham
• ページ数/冊数: 167 p.
• 大きさ: 18 cm
• 分類:
  • DC23 : 821.4
• 件名:
  • LCSH : Milton, John, 1608-1674. Paradise lost