Approaches to Teaching Milton's Paradise Lost

Approaches to Teaching Milton's Paradise Lost, Second Edition.
Editor: Peter C. Herman. Modern Languages Association, Pages: xii & 232 pp. Published: 2012

"This is an exemplary anthology of essays, all of them anchored in pedagogical concerns."
Joseph Wittreich

This second edition of Approaches to Teaching Milton’s Paradise Lost addresses Milton in the light of the digital age, new critical approaches to his poem, and his continued presence in contemporary culture. It aims to help instructors enliven the teaching of Paradise Lost and address the challenges presented to students by the poem—the early modern syntax and vocabulary, the political and theological contexts, and the abounding classical references.

The first part of the volume, "Materials," evaluates the many available editions of the poem, points to relevant reference works, recommends additional reading, and outlines useful audiovisual and online aids for teaching Milton’s epic poem. The essays in the second part, "Approaches," are grouped by several themes: literary and historical contexts, characters, poetics, critical approaches, classrooms, and performance. The essays cover epic conventions and literary and biblical allusions, new approaches such as ecocriticism and masculinity studies, and reading Milton on the Web, among other topics.

CONTENTS
Preface xi
PART ONE: MATERIALS Peter C. Herman
Editions and Texts 3 Reference Works and Biographies 8 Audiovisual and Online Aids 9
Required and Recommended Reading for Students 12 The Instructor’s Library 13
PART TWO: APPROACHES
Introduction 19 Peter C. Herman
Literary and Historical Contexts
Teaching Paradise Lost and the Bible 28 Regina Schwartz
Paradise Lost and the Jews 35 Achsah Guibbory
Teaching Paradise Lost and the Epic Tradition 41 Jessica Wolfe
Clues to the Classical Tradition 52 Abraham Stoll
Paradise Lost and Milton’s Revolutionary Prose and Poetry 58 Thomas Fulton
Radical Politics in Paradise Lost? 68 David Loewenstein
Characters
The Problem of God 76 Michael Bryson
The Problem of Satan 84 Gregory M. Colón Semenza
Teaching Eve: The Grammar of Eden 89 Julia M. Walker
Milton’s Adam 95 Richard Rambuss
Paradise Lost and Milton’s Biography 101 John T. Shawcross
Poetics
Narrators 105 Elizabeth Sauer
Approaches to Teaching Paradise Lost Allegorically 112 Catherine Gimelli Martin
Fit Quantity of Syllables 118 John Leonard
Critical Approaches
The Analogical Approach to Paradise Lost and Milton’s Prose: Uses and Abuses 125
Feisal G. Mohamed
Editing Milton with Richard Bentley 131 Anthony Welch
Visualizing Paradise Lost: Artists Teaching Milton 136 Wendy Furman-Adams
Imitating Milton in the Classroom 147 Sean Keilen
Teaching Paradise Lost through Adaptation; or, Books Promiscuously Read 151
Lauren Shohet
Teaching Paradise Lost through the New Milton Criticism 161 Peter C. Herman
Dieting in Paradise: Angelic Eating, Metaphysics, and Poetry in Paradise Lost 167
William Kolbrener
Ecocritical Milton 174 Jeffrey Theis
Classrooms
Paradise Lost in the British Literature Survey Course 180 Boyd Berry
Teaching Paradise Lost in a Western Civilization Course 184 Randall Ingram
The John Milton Reading Room: Teaching Paradise Lost with an Online Edition 189
Thomas H. Luxon
Performance and Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost as an Oral Epic 192 Hugh Richmond
Premeditated Verse: Marathon Readings of Milton’s Epic 197 Angelica Duran
Notes on Contributors 203 Survey Respondents 207 Works Cited 209
Index 229

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