18. Paradise Lost, Books IX-X

Milton (ENGL 220)

This second lecture on the Fall traces Milton's use of the word wander, in all of its forms, across the poem. The transformation of wander from its pre-fallen sense to its more nefarious incarnation following the transgression is examined closely. The wider literary context of the concept of wandering, with particular emphasis placed on its importance to the romance genre, is briefly discussed. The reductive forces of Book Nine -- particularly its tendency to transform the moral ambivalence, disputed sexual hierarchy, and general poetic ambiguity of earlier books into more definitive representations -- are considered, with the lecture ultimately suggesting that the poem begins to turn away in Book Nine from many of its proto-feminist elements.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction: The Fall, Language and Literature
06:33 - Chapter 2. Milton's Motivations for writing about The Fall
14:41 - Chapter 3. Tracing the History of the Word "Wandering" as it Progresses through the Poem
31:31 - Chapter 4. A New Understanding of Eve
41:07 - Chapter 5. "Paradise Lost" Book X: The Consequences of The Fall

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

This course was recorded in Fall 2007.