Course syllabus

 

ENGLISH 701: Milton and Poetic Authority

SEMESTER 2, 2018

30 points

 

 

 
Course Convenor: Claudia Marquis

 Teacher: Claudia Marquis

 

Course delivery format:

One 3 hour seminar.  15 minute break after the first hour and 15 minutes. 

(Timetable and room details can be viewed on Student Services Online)

 Summary of Course Description:              

                From his slack hand the garland wreathed for Eve

                Down dropped, and all the faded roses shed.

                                          (Paradise Lost, IX, 892-3)

 

John Milton is certainly the most important poet of the early modern period, but arguably he is also the greatest English political poet of any generation.  As a writer he achieved a certain fame in his own lifetime; within fifty years of his death his statue had been raised in Westminster Abbey; editions, commentaries and biographies quickly secured his “classic” status.  He wrote in a range of forms, but clearly engaged most seriously in a kind of renovation of poetic forms of highest prestige from the classical past.  He described “the true poem” in fundamentally ethical terms, as “a composition and pattern of the best and honourablest things”.  In short, history seems to have sided with him in creating conditions in which an aesthetic binds to a set of values of such general social importance that poetry which best answers to these naturally establishes the sort of community of readers that leads to canonical status. 

His writing matures in the period when English itself is discovering standards of expression that mirror the decorum and gravitas found in the works of esteemed classical writers.   Today, as a writer, he is primarily known for revitalizing in English the poetic forms of greatest prestige from the classical past, in particular the pastoral and the epic.  Yet, in his own lifetime Milton was best known for his radical tracts on political, religious and social issues. The tension between Milton’s avowed vocation, as the poet who speaks for God, and his views on established religion meant that he could justify the execution of a king on the grounds that he is not really a king at all, but something quite different, namely a tyrant and a rebel against God’s law.  Paradoxically, as Fredric Jameson reminds us, Milton is also considered the great poet of sex in the English language.  His views on sexuality, education, divorce, politics and the church underpin his poetical writing, especially his greatest works, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes.  In this paper attention will focus on Milton as rhetorician, revolutionary and poet.

 Course outcomes:

1. The primary aim of this paper is that you read and enjoy Milton.  
2.  Improve your skill in writing a coherent and lucid essay
3.  It is also important that you develop good oral presentation skills. 

 Assessment Summary:

Weighting of assignments and due dates if available, eg:

20% tutorial discussion'

20% class seminar (2 class seminars)

60% Major essay

 

Weekly Topics:

First lecture is on Monday, 16 July

WEEKS	TOPICS
WEEK 1 -   16 July	Introduction to Milton + 2 sonnets
WEEK 2 -   23 July	Areopagiticia
WEEK 3 –  30 July	Reason of Church Government
WEEK 4 –  6 August	‘‘On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, ‘Lycidas’
WEEK 5 –   13 August	‘L’Allegro’, ‘Il Penseroso’ ‘At a Solemn Music’
WEEK 6 –   20 August	‘Comus’
Mid-Semester Break	27 August – 8 September
Week 7 – 10 September	Paradise Lost
WEEK 8 –  17 September	Paradise Lost
Week 9 – 24 September	Paradise Lost
Week 10 – 1 October	Paradise Regained
Week 11—8 October	Samson Agonistes
Week 12 – 15 October	Conclusion/celebration

   

Prescribed Texts:

There is a prescribed Milton text in the bookstore; you can, however, use any complete edition of Milton.  No cell phone editions please.

 

 Recommended Texts:

A bibliography will be provided for each text studied.  But, of course, I encourage students to check out libraries both for seminars and essays.

 

 Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:           

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks – check course information for details.