Prospectus
Annotated Bibliography
Below you will find a list of sections to read closely as you are making your way through Milton's great epic, Paradise Lost. Remember you are responsible for the entirety of each of the Books, including the "Argument" that precedes each Book. Still, I'd like you to pay particular attention to the following sections. Notice that, to be kinder and more fair, I've lessened the reading load to only bring us to Book II by the time we reconvene. Also, I have included bulleted-summaries (in parenthesis) of the marked sections; these should serve as an apt reference for you. Remember to annotate and take notes as you are reading!!!
Introduction
- xi-xiv - "Meditating Flight" (on Milton's Life, quick biography)
- xiv-xxviii - "This Subject for Heroic Song," "With Dangers Compassed Round," "This Great Argument," "My Adventurous Song" (an introduction and discussion of Milton's great epic)
- xli-xliv - "To Model Heaven and Calculate the Stars" (on Milton's hierarchy of the universe; i.e., the circles of the heavens, the planets, and the earth)
- xlvii-li - "Sense Variously Drawn Out" (on Milton's style of verse and use of language)
Book I
- 1-26 (Milton's 'thesis')
- 26-124 (How Satan's crew came to be chained to the floor of Hell)
- 241-270 (Satan speaks on their present "clime")
- 316-375 (Satan rallies his troops)
- 566-669 (begin from "He through the armed files")(Satan raises and reforms his army, stating their new mission in the battle again God)
- 670-798 (the fallen angels mine the surface of Hell and construct Pandaemonium in order to call and hold a council)
Book II
- 1-105 (Satan argues for "open war")
- 161-169 (Belial's argument)
- 274-283 (Mammon's argument)
- 344-378 (from "What if we find / [...] / Hatching vain empires.") (Beelzebub's argument to "seduce" the "puny inhabitants" of earth)
- 427-466 (Satan's resolution to perform the mission alone)
- 506-513 (a fine example of god-parody)
- 552-628 (the fallen angels cheer; a 'map' of the universe)
- 629-889 (Satan at the gate of Hell; his encounter with Sin and Death)
- 890-942 (Satan ventures into the "wild abyss" of Chaos)
- 1023-1055 (the 'highway' from Hell; the "golden chain" of the universe)
For journal #6 I'd like you to do the following: Pick a favorite passage and briefly discuss it's importance and significance to you and to the epic itself. This is due before class meets again on Wed. 4/7.
