Reading John Milton

How to Persist in Troubled Times

Stephen Dobranski

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English

Stanford University Press
20 September 2022

Biography: historical, political & military; Biography: literary; Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Literature: history & criticism

A captivating biography that celebrates the audacious, inspiring life and works of John Milton, revealing how he speaks to our times.

John Milton is unrivalled-for the music of his verse and the breadth of his learning. In this brisk, topical, and engaging biography, Stephen B. Dobranski brushes the scholarly dust from the portrait of the artist to reveal Milton's essential humanity and his unwavering commitment to ideals-freedom of religion and the right and responsibility of all persons to think for themselves-that are still relevant and necessary in our times.

Milton's epic poem, Paradise Lost, is considered by many to be English poetry's masterpiece. Samuel Johnson, not one for effusive praise, claimed that from Milton's ""books alone the Art of English Poetry might be learned."" But Milton's renown rests on more than his artistic achievements. In a time of convulsive political turmoil, he justified the killing of a king, pioneered free speech, and publicly defended divorce. He was, in short, an iconoclast, an independent, even revolutionary, thinker. He was also an imperfect man-acrimonious, sometimes mean. Above all, he understood adversity. Afflicted by blindness, illness, and political imprisonment, Milton always sought to ""bear up and steer right onward"" through life's hardships.

Dobranski looks beyond Milton's academic standing, beyond his reputation as a dour and devout purist, to reveal the ongoing power of his works and the dauntless courage that he both wrote about and exemplified.

By: Stephen Dobranski
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781503632707
ISBN 10: 1503632709
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 20 September 2022
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Unspecified

"Introduction 1. The Power of Language: ""These defenseless doors"" 2. Personal Loss: ""Weep no more"" 3. Combating Injustice: ""Need not kings to make them happy"" 4. Physical Suffering: ""Only stand and wait"" 5. Free Speech: ""Precious lifeblood"" 6. Arrogance: ""Pride and worse ambition"" 7. Forgiveness: ""Hand in hand with wand'ring steps"" 8. Resisting Temptation: ""He who reigns within himself"" 9. Doubt: ""Strenuous liberty"" 10. Surviving Disaster: ""By small / Accomplishing great things"" Epilogue"

Stephen B. Dobranski is Distinguished University Professor at Georgia State University and the editor of the journal Milton Studies. His books include Readers and Authorship in Early Modern England (2005), Milton's Visual Imagination (2015), and a new edition of Paradise Lost (2022). He lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife and their daughter.

Reviews for Reading John Milton: How to Persist in Troubled Times

Milton may have had the most tumultuous life of any major English poet. This lavishly illustrated study revitalizes our image of him by showing his deep immersion in-and resilience to-the catastrophes of his times. -- Leah S. Marcus * author of How Shakespeare Became Colonial * Ingeniously organized around a biographical core, this full-throated celebration of the work and thought of John Milton heartily commends him to readers of our own age. -- Thomas N. Corns * coauthor of John Milton: Life, Work, and Thought * An accessible yet comprehensive account of Milton's life and works. -- Blaine Greteman * author of Networking Print in Shakespeare's England *