Why Milton Matters: A New Preface to His Writings: A New Preface to His Writings

277 Pages·2006·3.335 MB·English

by  Joseph Wittreich (auth.)

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Angel of Apocalypse: Blake’s Idea of Milton (Madison and London: University of
Wisconsin Press, 1975)
Visionary Poetics: Milton’s Tradition and His Legacy (San Marino: Huntington Library,
1979).
“Image of that Horror”: History, Prophecy, and Apocalypse in “King Lear” (San Marino:
Huntington Library, 1984).
Interpreting “Samson Agonistes” (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986).
[Winner of the James Holly Hanford Award presented by the Milton Society of
America, December, 1987]
Feminist Milton (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1987).
Shifting Contexts: Reinterpreting “Samson Agonistes” (Pittsburgh: Duquesne University
Press, 2002).
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The Romantics on Milton: Formal Essays and Critical Asides (Cleveland and London:
Press of Case Western Reserve University, 1970).
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Ed. Joseph Wittreich,Calm of Mind: Tercentenary Essays in Honor of John S. Diekhoff
(Cleveland and London: Press of Case Western Reserve University, 1972).
Ed. with Stuart Curran,Blake’s Sublime Allegory: Essays on “The Four Zoas,” “Milton,”
and “Jerusalem” (Madison and London: University of Wisconsin Press, 1973).
Ed. Joseph Wittreich,Milton and the Line of Vision (Madison and London: University of
Wisconsin Press, 1975).
Ed. with Richard S. Ide.Composite Orders: The Genres of Milton’s Last Poems (Pittsburgh:
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983), a special issue of Milton Studies,XVII.
Ed. with C. A. Patrides,The Apocalypse in English Renaissance Thought and Literature
(Manchester and Dover, NH: Manchester University Press, 1984).
Edited with Peter E. Medine, Soundings of Things Done: Essays in Early Modern
Literature in Honor of S. K. Heninger, Jr. (Newark University of Delaware Press and
London: Associated University Presses, 1997).
Ed. with Mark R. Kelley,Altering Eyes: New Perspectives on “Samson Agonistes” (Newark:
University of Delaware Press and London: Associated University Presses, 2002).
P
William Blake’s Illustrations for “Paradise Regained” (Cleveland: Rowfant Keepsake,
1971).
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Joseph Wittreich
WHYMILTONMATTERS
© Joseph Wittreich,2006.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2006 978-1-4039-7229-3
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2006 by
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ISBN 978-1-349-53358-9 ISBN 978-0-230-60142-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230601420
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wittreich,Joseph Anthony.
Why Milton matters :a new preface to his writings /
by Joseph Wittreich.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1.Milton,John,1608–1674—Criticism and interpretation.I.Title.
PR3588.W58 2006
821(cid:1).4—dc22 2006043418
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India.
First edition:November 2006
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
for
VINCENT NEWTON
1917–2005
just, skillful, magnanimous
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Citations viii
Illustrations x
Preface xi
1 “Reading” Milton: The Death (and Survival)
of the Author 1
2 Horizons of Expectations: Repressions, Receptions,
and the Politics of Milton’s Last Poems 61
3 Questioning and Critique: The Formation of a
New Milton Criticism 141
Notes 195
Index 241
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C
Most of the citations of Milton’s poetry, unless otherwise indicated,
are from The Complete Poetry of John Milton, ed. John T. Shawcross,
rev. ed. (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971), sometimes for clarity
referred to as CP. Most of the citations of Milton’s prose writings are
from Complete Prose Works of John Milton, gen. ed. Don M. Wolfe, 8
vols. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953–82), referred to as YP.
Occasionally citations are from The Works of John Milton, gen. ed.
Frank Allen Patterson, 18 vols. (New York: Columbia University
Press, 1931–40), referred to as CM.
[I]n the context of what appears to be a crisis...in the
late twentieth-century university, the question of how,
and still more why, we should still be reading
[Milton]...seems to deserve a larger scrutiny.
—Annabel Patterson