English 165

Description

Four years after publishing the first edition of Paradise Lost, Milton came out with a volume called Paradise Regain’d...to which is added, Samson Agonistes. We will spend the semester carefully reading these poems—a “brief epic” and a drama “never intended for the stage”—considering their relationship to each other and to Milton’s career as a whole. Students will hand in several close-readings and a final paper (8-10 pages). Any decent edition of Milton is acceptable, but if you can get a used copy of the Riverside Milton that would be ideal. We will occasionally dip into short passages from Milton’s earlier works; these will be made available as PDFs on the course site. This course is intended for students who have already read Paradise Lost. 

This class satisfies the pre-1800 requirement for the English major.