English 122 - Spring, 2013

Milton

Class Information

Instructor: Ferguson, Margaret
Time: MWF 11:00-11:50
Location: 118 Olson

Description

In this course, we will study Milton's works in a variety of genres (lyric, masque, prose treatise, epic) with special attention to his development as a writer; his use of the resources of language and rhetoric; his attitudes towards his precursors (including Shakespeare), toward kings, toward publication, and toward women. We will look at his engagement in contemporary controversies about divorce, cross-dressing, monarchy, religion, and state censorship.



Grading

Grading: Quizzes, homework exercises, two papers, a midterm, and a final.

Texts

The Complete Poetry of John Milton. Ed. by John Shawcross. Revised edition, 1971.
The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments (King James Version), (optional)
Milton's Rhetoric, "a pdf on course SmartSite, under "Resources".