12. The Blind Prophet

Milton (ENGL 220)

This lecture focuses on the invocation to light at the beginning of Book Three of Paradise Lost. Milton's factual and figurative understanding of his blindness is traced through his letters, Sonnet XXII, and the later epic Samson Agonistes. Particular emphasis is placed on the transformation of blindness in the corpus from a spiritual punishment to a poetic gift. The implications of biographical interpretations of literature are also touched upon.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction: Milton's Blindness
04:47 - Chapter 2. How Milton and His Contemporaries Interpreted His Blindness
17:35 - Chapter 3. Light and the Creation Account: Comparing Milton and The Book of Genesis
39:09 - Chapter 4. Blindness Explored in Samson Agonistes

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Fall 2007.