In this second lecture on Book Three of Paradise Lost, the dialogue between God and the Son in heaven is explored with particular attention paid to Milton's modification of the Calvinist theory of predestination. The terms and implications of Milton's attempt to justify the ways of God to man are considered. Milton's misgivings regarding the doctrine of the Trinity are examined, and the relationship between his theology and seventeenth-century political movements is expounded upon.
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
