Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost is probably John Milton’s (1608-74) most famous work and has, since its publication in 1667, become not only one of the major works in English literature, but also a piece of work that has occupied the critics’ attention, both in its time and the present, like scarcely any other classical and Christian influenced work. In Paradise Lost we encounter both the descriptive gifts and highly individual musicality of Milton’s literary style and fashion. In the quest of becoming one of the great poets in English such as Chaucer, Milton can be seen as a figure that links the Renaissance to the Restoration, as both a Renaissance and post-Renaissance man. Written in a time of political and religious struggle, Paradise Lost stands out as an epic poem of controversy. Using the general myth of Creation – God/Satan, Adam/Eve and the Fall of Mankind – Milton triggered many different interpretations of paradise and the physiology and psychology of mankind that can be both read as supporting Christian ideals or as the last great Renaissance text, stressing the freedom of choice of Adam and Eve in their path to human knowledge. In this seminar we shall try to understand the biographical, historical and literary backgrounds of the time in which the epic poem was written. By analyzing Milton’s epic poem in terms of political and religious issues as well as its genres and poetic style, we shall reveal the poem’s concepts and thus come to an understanding of the complex issues that can be found in Milton’s work. In this seminar you are given the opportunity to independently practice methods of text analysis and conduct reflective and theory-based research, sharpening your oral as well as writing skills. Students must buy their own copy (preferably Norton Critical Edition series) and should have read the complete poem by the beginning of the semester. Anglistik - Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft Beachten Sie, dass Sie diesen Kurs nach den Prüfungsordnungen ab 2011 nicht besuchen dürfen, wenn Sie die für dieses Modulelement laut Fachspezifischen Bestimmungen und Modulhandbuch notwendigen Voraussetzungen noch nicht erfüllen. 2 credits/3 LP Studienleistung: regular and active participation in class, including required reading, pass 2 out of 3 quizzes. 5 credits: regular and active participation in class, including required reading; presentation plus small essay 7 credits/3 LP Prüfungsleistung: regular and active participation in class, including required reading; pass 2 out of 3 quizzes plus written scholarly term paper of 12-16 pages on one text discussed in class. Universität Siegen SoSe 2014 M.A. Severin Maria M.A