Difference between revisions of "Paradise Lost"

From Wythepedia: The George Wythe Encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
(External Links)
m
 
(13 intermediate revisions by 7 users not shown)
Line 4: Line 4:
 
{{BookPageInfoBox
 
{{BookPageInfoBox
 
|imagename=MiltonParadiseLost1758.jpg
 
|imagename=MiltonParadiseLost1758.jpg
|link=https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/Record/3466126
+
|link=https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991017498669703196
 
|shorttitle=Paradise Lost: A Poem, in Twelve Books
 
|shorttitle=Paradise Lost: A Poem, in Twelve Books
|author=John Milton
+
|commontitle=Paradise Lost
|publoc=Birmingham
+
|author=[[:Category: John Milton| John Milton]]
 +
|publoc=[[:Category: Birmingham| Birmingham]]
 
|publisher=Printed by John Baskerville for J. and R. Tonson in London
 
|publisher=Printed by John Baskerville for J. and R. Tonson in London
 
|year=1758
 
|year=1758
|lang=English
+
|lang=[[:Category: English| English]]
 
|pages=[33], 416 p.
 
|pages=[33], 416 p.
|desc=8vo (24 cm.)
+
|desc=[[:Category:Octavos|8vo]] (24 cm.)
}}[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milton John Milton] (1608-1674), was an English poet and polemicist best known for his canonical epic poem Paradise Lost.<ref> Gordon Campbell, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18800 “Milton, John (1608–1674)], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004), accessed September 26, 2013. All biographical details are from this source unless otherwise noted.</ref> In 1639, Milton published five anti-prelatical pamphlets that criticize the governance of the Church. With the dissolution of his first marriage in 1642, he began to write extensively on divorce, saying that the breakdown of a marriage should constitute grounds for divorce.<ref> W.P. Trent, “John Milton”, ''The Sewanee Review'', 5, no. 1 (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1897), pp. 8-9.</ref><br/>
+
|shelf=M-4
<br/>
+
}}[[wikipedia:John Milton|John Milton]] (1608-1674), was an English poet and polemicist, and a civil servant under [[wikipedia:Oliver Cromwell|Oliver Cromwell]]. Best known for his canonical epic poem, ''Paradise Lost'', Milton began to write poetry in English and Latin at Cambridge in 1625.<ref>Gordon Campbell, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18800 "Milton, John (1608–1674),"] ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004), accessed September 26, 2013. All biographical information is from this source unless otherwise noted.</ref> From this early poetry one can see Milton's critical view of Catholicism. His first published poem was a commendatory poem in the second published folio of Shakespeare's work in 1632, titled "On Shakespeare."<ref>W.P. Trent, "John Milton," ''The Sewanee Review'', 5, No. 1 (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1897), pp. 2-3.</ref>
  
Milton’s career from 1641-74 fluctuated from a focus on poetry, political and religious criticisms, and histories. Milton’s political writings from 1649-55 are marked by his disbelief of divine right of kings, his advocacy for a more republican government, and his controversial defense of regicide that made him infamous across Europe. He also wrote a formidable proposal for the reformation of the English education system<ref> Pauline Lacy Smith, “John Milton as an Educator,” ‘’Peabody Journal of Education’’, 23, no. 3 (Taylor & Francis, Ltd., Nov. 1945), p. 173.</ref>, treatises on the importance of free press, and a treatise against the use of tithes. Milton became permanently blind in 1652<ref>W.H. Wilmer, “The Blindness of Milton,” ''The Journal of English and Germanic Philology'', 32, no. 3 (University of Illinois Press, Jul. 1993,), p. 308.</ref>; he began to dictate his writing.<br/>
+
Greatly affected by the deaths of his mother and his friend and fellow poet [[wikipedia:Edward King (British poet)|Edward King]], Milton traveled abroad to Paris and throughout Italy in 1638.<ref>Pauline Lacy Smith, "John Milton as an Educator," ''Peabody Journal of Education'', 23, no. 3 (Taylor & Francis, Ltd., Nov. 1945), pp. 170-71.</ref> When he returned to England, Milton published five anti-prelatical pamphlets that criticize the governance of the Church. With the dissolution of his first marriage in 1642 he began to write extensively on divorce, saying that the breakdown of a marriage should constitute grounds for divorce.<ref>Trent, pp. 8-9.</ref>
<br/>
 
  
After the restoration of Charles II in 1660, Milton went into hiding; his books were ordered burnt and he was imprisoned in the Tower. Milton dictated ''Paradise Lost'' from around 1658-63, but was interrupted by these tumultuous incidents. His portrayal of man’s susceptibility to the evils of Satan mirrors his views of the failure of the Commonwealth and the restoration of monarchy.<ref>Joan Webber, “Milton’s God,''ELH'', 40, no. 4 (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973), p. 518.</ref> The poem is the great English epic; more than this political allegory, the poem presents a shockingly humanized depiction of God, Satan, and Adam and Eve.<br/>
+
Milton's career from 1641-1674 fluctuated between a focus on poetry, political and religious criticisms, and histories. Milton's political writings from 1649-1655 are marked by a disbelief in the divine right of kings, advocacy for a more republican government, and his controversial defense of regicide that made him infamous across Europe. He also wrote a formidable proposal for the reformation of the English education system<ref> Smith, p. 173.</ref>, treatises on the importance of a free press, and a treatise against the use of tithes. After becoming blind in 1652, Milton began to dictate his writing.<ref>W.H. Wilmer, "The Blindness of Milton," ''The Journal of English and Germanic Philology'', 32, no. 3 (University of Illinois Press, Jul. 1993,) p. 308.</ref>
<br/>
 
  
''Paradise Regained'' was published in 1671, and depicts the “temptations of Jesus in the desert”  in an unsentimental way. ''Samson Agonistes'' was published along with this work, but it is unclear when Milton wrote this drama. It is a play modeled after Greek dramas with clear autobiographical undertones<ref> Smith, p. 172.</ref>, and a modern characterization of Samson as a man struggling to find divine influences in his life.
+
Milton's political writing in the 1650s controversially challenged monarchy as the best form of government. Instead, he advocated for a republic comprised of a "Grand or Supreme Council" of virtuous aristocrats. This political philosophy of "republican exclusivism" greatly influenced the United States’ founding fathers, including [[Thomas Jefferson]].<ref>Nathan R. Perl-Rosenthal, "The 'Divine Right of Republics': Hebraic Republicanism and the Debate over Kingless Government in Revolutionary America," ''The William and Mary Quarterly'', Third Series, 66, No. 3 (Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Jul. 2009), p. 538.</ref>  Jefferson specifically used Milton’s ideas that criticized the governance of the church to argue for the separation of church and state in Virginia.
 +
 
 +
Milton's books were ordered to be burned and he was imprisoned in the Tower after the restoration of [[wikipedia:Charles II of England|Charles II]] in 1660. Milton dictated ''Paradise Lost'' from around 1658-1663, but was interrupted by these tumultuous events. His portrayal of man's susceptibility to the evils of Satan mirrors his views of the failure of the Commonwealth and the restoration of monarchy.<ref>Joan Webber, "Milton's God," ''ELH'', 40, no. 4 (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973), p. 518.</ref> ''Paradise Lost'' is the great English epic; more than political allegory, the poem presents shockingly humanized depictions of God, Satan, Adam and Eve.
 +
 
 +
"In life Milton was both praised and scorned; praised for his achievements in poetry and scorned for his writings on church and state."<ref>''eNotes'', s.v. [http://www.enotes.com/topics/john-milton/critical-essays/milton-john "John Milton"], accessed October 23, 2013.</ref> In the eighteenth century, Milton’s work was "largely responsible for the shift from rhyme to blank verse, and also for many features of poetic diction and syntax."<ref>Campbell, "Milton, John."</ref> Milton's ''Paradise Lost'' permeated the arts, inspiring imitation and parody in written work. It also became the cornerstone for a focus on the "sublime," as well as the inspiration for a focus on the picturesque in the visual art of the time.<ref>Ibid.</ref>
  
 
==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
 
==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
 +
Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as "Milton’s Paradise lost & regained. Baskerville. 2.v. 8[vo]." This was one of the titles kept by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. Jefferson sold a Baskerville set of ''Paradise Lost'' and ''Paradise Regain'd'' to the Library of Congress in 1815, but the volumes no longer exist to verify Wythe's prior ownership. Both [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s. v. [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe "Member: George Wythe"], accessed on February 24, 2014.</ref> on LibraryThing and the [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref> Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433</ref> include the 1758 set based on Millicent Sowerby's use of that edition in ''Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson''.<ref>E. Millicent Sowerby, ''Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson'', (Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, 1952-1959), 4:424 [[http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015033648125;view=1up;seq=444 no.4288]].</ref> The Wolf Law Library followed Sowerby's recommendation and purchased a copy of the 1758 set for the [[George Wythe Collection]].
  
 
==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
 
==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
 
Bound in contemporary full calf with red and brown lettering labels, gilt.  
 
Bound in contemporary full calf with red and brown lettering labels, gilt.  
  
View this book in [https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/Record/3466126 William & Mary's online catalog].
+
Images of the library's copy of this book are [https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolflawlibrary/albums/72157637446045156 available on Flickr.] View the record for this book in [https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991017498669703196 William & Mary's online catalog].
==External Links==
+
 
View this book in [http://books.google.com/books?id=YmCtYLKc3gIC Google Books.]
+
==See also==
 +
*''[[Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works of John Milton|A Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works of John Milton]]''
 +
*[[George Wythe Room]]
 +
*[[Jefferson Inventory]]
 +
*''[[Paradise Regain'd]]''
 +
*[[Wythe's Library]]
  
===References===
+
==References==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
 +
 +
==External Links==
 +
Read this book in [http://books.google.com/books?id=YmCtYLKc3gIC Google Books].
  
 
[[Category:English Literature]]
 
[[Category:English Literature]]
 
[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
 
[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
 +
[[Category:Jefferson's Books]]
 +
[[Category: John Milton]]
 +
[[Category: Poetry]]
 
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]
 
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]
 +
 +
[[Category: Birmingham]]
 +
[[Category: English]]
 +
[[Category:Octavos]]

Latest revision as of 14:44, 2 August 2022

by John Milton

Paradise Lost
MiltonParadiseLost1758.jpg

Title page from Paradise Lost: A Poem, in Twelve Books, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary.

Author John Milton
Editor {{{editor}}}
Translator {{{trans}}}
Published Birmingham: Printed by John Baskerville for J. and R. Tonson in London
Date 1758
Edition {{{edition}}}
Language English
Volumes {{{set}}} volume set
Pages [33], 416 p.
Desc. 8vo (24 cm.)
Location Shelf M-4
  [[Shelf {{{shelf2}}}]]

John Milton (1608-1674), was an English poet and polemicist, and a civil servant under Oliver Cromwell. Best known for his canonical epic poem, Paradise Lost, Milton began to write poetry in English and Latin at Cambridge in 1625.[1] From this early poetry one can see Milton's critical view of Catholicism. His first published poem was a commendatory poem in the second published folio of Shakespeare's work in 1632, titled "On Shakespeare."[2]

Greatly affected by the deaths of his mother and his friend and fellow poet Edward King, Milton traveled abroad to Paris and throughout Italy in 1638.[3] When he returned to England, Milton published five anti-prelatical pamphlets that criticize the governance of the Church. With the dissolution of his first marriage in 1642 he began to write extensively on divorce, saying that the breakdown of a marriage should constitute grounds for divorce.[4]

Milton's career from 1641-1674 fluctuated between a focus on poetry, political and religious criticisms, and histories. Milton's political writings from 1649-1655 are marked by a disbelief in the divine right of kings, advocacy for a more republican government, and his controversial defense of regicide that made him infamous across Europe. He also wrote a formidable proposal for the reformation of the English education system[5], treatises on the importance of a free press, and a treatise against the use of tithes. After becoming blind in 1652, Milton began to dictate his writing.[6]

Milton's political writing in the 1650s controversially challenged monarchy as the best form of government. Instead, he advocated for a republic comprised of a "Grand or Supreme Council" of virtuous aristocrats. This political philosophy of "republican exclusivism" greatly influenced the United States’ founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson.[7] Jefferson specifically used Milton’s ideas that criticized the governance of the church to argue for the separation of church and state in Virginia.

Milton's books were ordered to be burned and he was imprisoned in the Tower after the restoration of Charles II in 1660. Milton dictated Paradise Lost from around 1658-1663, but was interrupted by these tumultuous events. His portrayal of man's susceptibility to the evils of Satan mirrors his views of the failure of the Commonwealth and the restoration of monarchy.[8] Paradise Lost is the great English epic; more than political allegory, the poem presents shockingly humanized depictions of God, Satan, Adam and Eve.

"In life Milton was both praised and scorned; praised for his achievements in poetry and scorned for his writings on church and state."[9] In the eighteenth century, Milton’s work was "largely responsible for the shift from rhyme to blank verse, and also for many features of poetic diction and syntax."[10] Milton's Paradise Lost permeated the arts, inspiring imitation and parody in written work. It also became the cornerstone for a focus on the "sublime," as well as the inspiration for a focus on the picturesque in the visual art of the time.[11]

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Listed in the Jefferson Inventory of Wythe's Library as "Milton’s Paradise lost & regained. Baskerville. 2.v. 8[vo]." This was one of the titles kept by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson sold a Baskerville set of Paradise Lost and Paradise Regain'd to the Library of Congress in 1815, but the volumes no longer exist to verify Wythe's prior ownership. Both George Wythe's Library[12] on LibraryThing and the Brown Bibliography[13] include the 1758 set based on Millicent Sowerby's use of that edition in Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson.[14] The Wolf Law Library followed Sowerby's recommendation and purchased a copy of the 1758 set for the George Wythe Collection.

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

Bound in contemporary full calf with red and brown lettering labels, gilt.

Images of the library's copy of this book are available on Flickr. View the record for this book in William & Mary's online catalog.

See also

References

  1. Gordon Campbell, "Milton, John (1608–1674)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004), accessed September 26, 2013. All biographical information is from this source unless otherwise noted.
  2. W.P. Trent, "John Milton," The Sewanee Review, 5, No. 1 (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1897), pp. 2-3.
  3. Pauline Lacy Smith, "John Milton as an Educator," Peabody Journal of Education, 23, no. 3 (Taylor & Francis, Ltd., Nov. 1945), pp. 170-71.
  4. Trent, pp. 8-9.
  5. Smith, p. 173.
  6. W.H. Wilmer, "The Blindness of Milton," The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 32, no. 3 (University of Illinois Press, Jul. 1993,) p. 308.
  7. Nathan R. Perl-Rosenthal, "The 'Divine Right of Republics': Hebraic Republicanism and the Debate over Kingless Government in Revolutionary America," The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, 66, No. 3 (Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Jul. 2009), p. 538.
  8. Joan Webber, "Milton's God," ELH, 40, no. 4 (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973), p. 518.
  9. eNotes, s.v. "John Milton", accessed October 23, 2013.
  10. Campbell, "Milton, John."
  11. Ibid.
  12. LibraryThing, s. v. "Member: George Wythe", accessed on February 24, 2014.
  13. Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433
  14. E. Millicent Sowerby, Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson, (Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, 1952-1959), 4:424 [no.4288].

External Links

Read this book in Google Books.