Books Eleven and Twelve of Paradise Lost and their radical departure from the poem's previous style are discussed. The transformation of Milton's famously sonorous verse into a more didactic mode is closely documented, and the poem's increasing emphasis on visual instruction is underscored in a study of the Archangel Michael's lesson on the history of the post-fallen world. Considerable time is devoted to both a consideration of Milton's late politics and Book Eleven's depiction of the destruction of paradise.
A study of Milton's poetry, with some attention to his literary sources, his contemporaries, his controversial prose, and his decisive influence on the course of English poetry.
Lecture Transcript, Handouts, and Reading Assignment
