4. Poetry and Virginity

Milton (ENGL 220)

Milton's first publication, A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, is examined. Milton's vision of a poet's heaven in "Ad Patrem," paired with the letter to Charles Diodati, with its particular emphasis on the need for chastity in poets, is used as a springboard to a discussion of the depiction of sexual ideals in the masque. Revelation 14, 1 Corinthians, and the Apology for Smectymnuus are also discussed at length, as are the poet's biography and the history of the masque's title.

00:00 - Chapter 1. "Ad Patrem": A Poem to Milton's Father
08:33 - Chapter 2. "An Apology for Smectymnuus"
16:34 - Chapter 3. "Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle"

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

This course was recorded in Fall 2007.