Milton's Peculiar Grace

by Fallon, Stephen M.

• ISBN13: 9780801474859
• ISBN10: 080147485X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-08-01
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr

Summary

Despite writing about himself extensively and repeatedly, John Milton, the archetypal Puritan author, resolutely avoids the obligatory Augustinian narrative of sinfulness, conviction of sin, reception of the Word, regeneration of the spirit, and sanctification. The doctrine of fall, grace, and regeneration, so well illustrated in Paradise Lost, has no discernible effect on Milton's overt self-representations. Exploring this anomaly in his new book, Stephen M. Fallon contends that Milton, despite his deep engagement with theology, is not a religious writer. Why, Fallon asks, does Milton write about himself so compulsively? Why does he substitute, for the otherwise universal theological script, a story of precocious and continued virtue, even, it seems, a narrative of sinlessness? What pressures does this decision to reject the standard narrative exert on his work? In Milton's Peculiar Grace, Fallon argues that Milton writes about himself to gain immortality, secure authority for his arguments, and exert control over his readers' interpretations. He traces the return of the repressed narrative of fallenness in the author's unacknowledged and displaced self-representations, which in turn account for much of the power of the late poems. Fallon's book, based on close readings of Milton's "self-constructions" in prose and poetry throughout his career, provides a new view of Milton's life and his importance for contemporary literary theory-in particular for continued questions about authorial intention.

Author Biography

Stephen M. Fallon is Professor of Liberal Studies and English at the University of Notre Dame

Table of Contents

Preface: The Anomalous Milton	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Texts and Abbreviations	p. xix
Self-Representation, Intention, and Authority	p. 1
Interlude: The 1633 "Letter to a Friend"	p. 14
The Least of Sinners: Milton in Context	p. 21
"Himself before Himself": The Early Works	p. 45
"Kingdom of Free Spirits": The Anti-Prelatical Works	p. 79
"The Spur of Self-Concernment": The Works on Domestic Liberty	p. 110
Interlude: Interregnum Poetry	p. 146
"It Was I and No Other": Interregnum Prose	p. 150
"Elect above the Rest": De Doctrina Christiana and Paradise Lost	p. 182
"If All Be Mine": Confidence and Anxiety in Paradise Lost	p. 203
"I as All Others": Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes	p. 237
Epilogue	p. 265
Index	p. 271
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