Milton's Wisdom: Nature and Scripture in Paradise LostMilton's Wisdom examines the poet's use of the traditional notion that the eternal wisdom of God expressed itself in the "books" of nature and Scripture. It is the first study to draw attention to Milton's extensive use of biblical wisdom literature in his dramatization of Adam and Eve's education, their fall, and their reconciliation with one another and with God. The author looks at the ways theological and hence epistemological questions converge on and are generated by Adam's, Eve's, and Satan's responses to the world they see around them and to the words God and his emissaries speak to them. Reichert argues that the nature/Scripture dichotomy informs the symmetrical structure of the twelve books of Milton's epic. Milton's Wisdom challenges previous readings that have tried to ally Milton with the Puritans' strict theology of the word. Reichert has shifted our attention away from literary and historical theory and back to the experience of the poem as a whole. |
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Page 159
... sense in which his lines express truth . We can stress , if we wish , the sense in which they are only ironically true : he is not aware of their full implications . But we should also and equally stress their congruence with the divine ...
... sense in which his lines express truth . We can stress , if we wish , the sense in which they are only ironically true : he is not aware of their full implications . But we should also and equally stress their congruence with the divine ...
Page 261
... sense the prologues to Books 1 and 7 are similar in design insofar as they both conclude by posing direct questions to the muse : " Say first ... what cause / Moved our grand parents ... to fall off from their creator , and transgress ...
... sense the prologues to Books 1 and 7 are similar in design insofar as they both conclude by posing direct questions to the muse : " Say first ... what cause / Moved our grand parents ... to fall off from their creator , and transgress ...
Page 264
... sense of Milton's suffering is strong in both passages . Just below the surface , but well mastered , there is an attitude almost approaching , in the first , resent- ment , and in the second , fear . It can be heard in lines like " but ...
... sense of Milton's suffering is strong in both passages . Just below the surface , but well mastered , there is an attitude almost approaching , in the first , resent- ment , and in the second , fear . It can be heard in lines like " but ...
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Paradise Lost | 51 |
Meditating on the Creatures Part | 69 |
Copyright | |
2 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
Adam and Eve Adam's angels answer appears beauty become beginning Book bring calls chapter conversation course created creation creatures death describes desire divine earth effect emphasis Eve's evil expressed eyes face fact fair faith Fall fallen Father fear feel follow fruit given gives God's grace hand happy hath hear heard heart heaven heavenly human hymn John knowledge leave light lines live look Lord meaning Michael Milton mind morning move nature once opening Paradise Lost passage perhaps phrase poem poet praise prayer present providence question Raphael reader reason reference Satan says Scripture seems seen sense sight speak speech spirit story suggest sweet tells thee things thou thought tree turn understanding University Press unto voice wisdom wonder words
References to this book
All in All: Unity, Diversity, and the Miltonic Perspective Charles W. Durham,Kristin A. Pruitt Limited preview - 1999 |