9. Paradise Lost, Book I

Milton (ENGL 220)

The invocation to Paradise Lost is read and analyzed. Milton's tenure as Latin Secretary under the Puritan government, his subsequent imprisonment upon the restoration of the monarchy, and his blindness are all briefly discussed. The poet's subsequent choice of a religious subject, rather than a nationalist one, for his epic is considered in light of the failure of the Puritan regime. His radical poetics, including his stance against rhyme and his unique use of enjambment and double syntax, is closely examined. Elements of the radical philosophy of monism, present in his depiction of angelic bodies, are identified and discussed at length.

00:00 - Chapter 1. "Paradise Lost": The Fall of Adam, Eve and the Rebel Angels
08:56 - Chapter 2. "Paradise Lost": A Powerful Defense against Lateness
13:44 - Chapter 3. "First": A Strategy of Retrospective Anticipation
23:14 - Chapter 4. "Paradise Lost": Radical Theology
28:25 - Chapter 5. "Paradise Lost": Thoughts Unconstrained by Grammar

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

This course was recorded in Fall 2007.