Through a Glass Darkly: Milton's Reinvention of the Mythological TraditionIn this wide-ranging and ambitious study, John Mulryan contributes significantly to our knowledge of the mythological underpinnings of John Milton's works. Perhaps our most Christian poet, Milton chose to communicate his vision of reality in the language of ancient Greek and Roman mythology. As Mulryan points out, Milton as no other poet before him mastered the texts of classical mythology in their original languages and seldom wrote a line that did not betray their influence. Here, we are reintroduced to the Renaissance millieu that was not only intimately familiar to Milton but that helped to shape his thinking about fundamental matters that he addresses in his poetry, particularly Paradise Lost. Mulryan's study first establishes the incredible richness of the mythological tradition that was available to Milton, including many sources that have either been ignored or depreciated in current scholarship. Milton's own view of classical myth is then explored, and Mulryan provides insight into how this view had to deal with the problem of reconciling pagan learning and Christian thought. Finally, this study demonstrates how Milton drew upon and assimilated the mythological traditions in his poetry as a reflection of the receptiveness to such acts of "creative mythologizing" during his own time. "Through a Glass Darkly" is primarily historical in its methodological approach, but it is relevant also for scholars using structuralist, deconstructionist, feminist, new historicist, psychoanalytic, or postmodernist approaches to Literary Studies. Myth is itself a kind of language that Milton, in a sense, "deconstructs." As this study shows, Milton decodes the mythological tradition, only to encode it in another way. |
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Page 84
... gives commands , the angels carry them out , man obeys . God creates man by his command , the angels by their ... give place to Jupiter [ often taken as an ancient substitute for God the Father ] ; the language of earth will yield to and ...
... gives commands , the angels carry them out , man obeys . God creates man by his command , the angels by their ... give place to Jupiter [ often taken as an ancient substitute for God the Father ] ; the language of earth will yield to and ...
Page 104
... give equal emphasis to the idea of the divine in the beloved . Both deal with the myth of the hermaphro- dite , but Ebreo gives much more attention to the concept of separation and division , and how it enhances and even provides the ...
... give equal emphasis to the idea of the divine in the beloved . Both deal with the myth of the hermaphro- dite , but Ebreo gives much more attention to the concept of separation and division , and how it enhances and even provides the ...
Page 112
... gives him the being of a prince and the being of an affluent man , is not the cause of this evil , but rather the cause is the goddess Virtue , who does not give him , nor did give him virtuous being " " ( 2.2.176 ) . Similarly - but ...
... gives him the being of a prince and the being of an affluent man , is not the cause of this evil , but rather the cause is the goddess Virtue , who does not give him , nor did give him virtuous being " " ( 2.2.176 ) . Similarly - but ...
Contents
ONE Milton and the Classics | 14 |
Two Milton and the Church Fathers | 54 |
THREE Milton Martianus Capella Bernard | 67 |
Copyright | |
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according Adam allegorical ancient angels appear attempt beauty body caduceus called Cartari century Chaos chap chapter Christian cites claims classical commentary commentators Conti created Cupid death desire detailed devil dictionaries discussed divine dreams earth edition Egyptian emblem English entry evil example fact fall false fathers female figure follows Fortune gives goddess gods Greek hand head heaven hell Hercules Homer human interpretation John Jupiter knowledge Latin learning London meaning Mercury Milton mind moral Muses myth mythographers mythology nature notes Occasion Ovid pagan Paradise Lost Paradise Regained perhaps poet provides reason references Renaissance represents Samson Satan seeks shapes soul sources symbol takes thee things thir Thomas thou thought tion tradition translation true truth turn Venus virtue wisdom woman women writers