Milton
Class Information
Instructor: Menely, Tobias
Time: TR 10:30-11:50
Location: 6 Olson
Description
John Milton is the author of _Paradise Lost_, the most ambitious epic in English, a poem that seeks to "justify the ways of God to men" by emphasizing the importance of human freedom. Milton?s heterodox theology was aligned with his radical politics. He wrote pamphlets justifying the execution of a tyrannical monarch and in support of the right to divorce and free speech. In this course, we will read some of Milton's powerful short poems and prose writings, but our main focus will be _Paradise Lost_, a cosmic poem (it has been called the first work of science fiction) that is also a profoundly moving exploration of choices and consequences, of innocence and experience, of education and vocation, of love and loss.
Text: we'll be using the Hackett edition of _Paradise Lost_, edited by David Scott Kastan, as well as a course reader, available in Canvas, which you'll be expected to print.
Grading
Two short essays
Weekly Discussion Forum
Take-home final exam
Texts
Paradse Lost (Hackett edition), John Milton (ed. Kastan)
Online Course Reader