Reading the Classics and Paradise LostMilton’s early commentators—Henry Todd, Thomas Newton, Joseph Addison, and others—not only knew their classics well, they took them seriously as models of literary excellence and repositories of values. In the twentieth century, however, the classics have become mere “background.” As a consequence, William M. Porter argues, not only is the foundational dimension of Milton’s poetry now hardly visible, even to scholars, but the potential of Milton’s poetry to revitalize the reading of the classics has been diminished. In this insightful study, Porter attempts once again to read both the classics and Milton’s epic poem sensitively and intelligently. He exposes the recklessly speculative and tendentious character of much earlier work on Milton’s allusions, in which allusions were promiscuously posited and in which Paradise Lost was too often regarded naively as triumphing over the classics. Porter demonstrates that Milton’s allusions, in which allusions to the classics, while fewer than has been supposed, are rich with wit, irony, and thought that can be grasped only by a reader with a double perspective. |
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Page 72
... considered in extenso is Hesiod's account of the titanomachy in the Theogony , which was considered earlier . But for Milton's purposes , Horace's brief scenes of celestial revolt provide a crucial thematic comple- ment to Hesiod's ...
... considered in extenso is Hesiod's account of the titanomachy in the Theogony , which was considered earlier . But for Milton's purposes , Horace's brief scenes of celestial revolt provide a crucial thematic comple- ment to Hesiod's ...
Page 94
... number of books as Vergil's Aeneid has most often been considered . Milton seems to draw attention to the book divisions in the subtitle found on the title pages of 94 Facilis descensus Auerno : Design "A Poem in Twelve Books"
... number of books as Vergil's Aeneid has most often been considered . Milton seems to draw attention to the book divisions in the subtitle found on the title pages of 94 Facilis descensus Auerno : Design "A Poem in Twelve Books"
Page 116
... considered Augustus a benevolent ruler and to have regarded his monarchy as tolerant . In Areopagitica , he defends Augustus in the cases of Livy and Ovid : And for matters of State , the story of Titus Livius , though it extoll'd that ...
... considered Augustus a benevolent ruler and to have regarded his monarchy as tolerant . In Areopagitica , he defends Augustus in the cases of Livy and Ovid : And for matters of State , the story of Titus Livius , though it extoll'd that ...
Contents
Allusion | 13 |
Lesser Forms of Literary | 21 |
The Critical Allusion | 32 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
Achilles Adam Aeneas Aeneid allu alluding Anchises ancient angels animis caelestibus Augustus Biblical Blessington borrowing Caesar Catullus chapter cites Classical Epic Club of Hercules commentary context critical allusion dactylic hexameter Descende caelo descent Dido divine Dobson earlier echo edition English Ennius enthymeme Epic Tradition example fact Georgics Greek heaven Hell hermeneutic Hesiod hexameter Homer Horace Horace's Hume Iliad imitation important interpretation intertextual invocation John Milton language Latin lines literary literature Lost's meaning Milton's allusions Milton's classicism Milton's poetry modern Muses narrative Neo-Latin notes Odes Odyssey original Orpheus Ovid pagan Paradise Lost parallel Partu Virginis passage poem poet poet's poetic Press proem prologue prose quoted reader reference Renaissance reworking rhetorical Roman Sannazaro Satan says seems significant simile sion Spenser structure style suggests target Tartarus Theogony tion Tiresias titanomachy translation Turnus twelve books verbal Vergil Vergilian verse words Zeus καὶ τε