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 90
... thee hath ruind , for with thee Certain my resolution is to Die ; How can I live without thee , how forgoe Thy sweet Converse and Love so dearly joyn'd , To live again in these wild Woods forlorn ? ( PL 9.896-99 , 906-10 ) Or as Ficino ...
... thee hath ruind , for with thee Certain my resolution is to Die ; How can I live without thee , how forgoe Thy sweet Converse and Love so dearly joyn'd , To live again in these wild Woods forlorn ? ( PL 9.896-99 , 906-10 ) Or as Ficino ...
Page 91
... thee , And for thee , whose perfection far excell'd Hers in all real dignitie .... ( 145-51 ) Beginning with the second speech of his seventh chap- ter Milton and the Trattato d'amore 91.
... thee , And for thee , whose perfection far excell'd Hers in all real dignitie .... ( 145-51 ) Beginning with the second speech of his seventh chap- ter Milton and the Trattato d'amore 91.
Page 101
... thee , Adam , I was pleas'd , And find thee knowing not of Beasts alone , Which thou hast rightly nam'd , but of thy self , Expressing well the spirit within thee free , My Image , not imparted to the Brute , Whose fellowship therefore ...
... thee , Adam , I was pleas'd , And find thee knowing not of Beasts alone , Which thou hast rightly nam'd , but of thy self , Expressing well the spirit within thee free , My Image , not imparted to the Brute , Whose fellowship therefore ...
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