The Atheist Milton

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Poetry History & Criticism
Cover of the book The Atheist Milton by Michael E. Bryson, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael E. Bryson ISBN: 9781317040958
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: March 23, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Michael E. Bryson
ISBN: 9781317040958
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: March 23, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Basing his contention on two different lines of argument, Michael Bryson posits that John Milton-possibly the most famous 'Christian' poet in English literary history-was, in fact, an atheist. First, based on his association with Arian ideas (denial of the doctrine of the Trinity), his argument for the de Deo theory of creation (which puts him in line with the materialism of Spinoza and Hobbes), and his Mortalist argument that the human soul dies with the human body, Bryson argues that Milton was an atheist by the commonly used definitions of the period. And second, as the poet who takes a reader from the presence of an imperious, monarchical God in Paradise Lost, to the internal-almost Gnostic-conception of God in Paradise Regained, to the absence of any God whatsoever in Samson Agonistes, Milton moves from a theist (with God) to something much more recognizable as a modern atheist position (without God) in his poetry. Among the author's goals in The Atheist Milton is to account for tensions over the idea of God which, in Bryson's view, go all the way back to Milton's earliest poetry. In this study, he argues such tensions are central to Milton's poetry-and to any attempt to understand that poetry on its own terms.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Basing his contention on two different lines of argument, Michael Bryson posits that John Milton-possibly the most famous 'Christian' poet in English literary history-was, in fact, an atheist. First, based on his association with Arian ideas (denial of the doctrine of the Trinity), his argument for the de Deo theory of creation (which puts him in line with the materialism of Spinoza and Hobbes), and his Mortalist argument that the human soul dies with the human body, Bryson argues that Milton was an atheist by the commonly used definitions of the period. And second, as the poet who takes a reader from the presence of an imperious, monarchical God in Paradise Lost, to the internal-almost Gnostic-conception of God in Paradise Regained, to the absence of any God whatsoever in Samson Agonistes, Milton moves from a theist (with God) to something much more recognizable as a modern atheist position (without God) in his poetry. Among the author's goals in The Atheist Milton is to account for tensions over the idea of God which, in Bryson's view, go all the way back to Milton's earliest poetry. In this study, he argues such tensions are central to Milton's poetry-and to any attempt to understand that poetry on its own terms.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Digital Interfacing by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book The Companion to The Mechanical Muse: The Piano, Pianism and Piano Music, c.1760–1850 by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Aurel Kolnai's The War AGAINST the West Reconsidered by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Guardianship, Gender, and the Nobility in Early Modern Spain by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Science and Racket Sports II by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Re-Orientalism and South Asian Identity Politics by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Theory and Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book New Participatory Dimensions in Civil Society by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Progress in Self Psychology, V. 6 by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Data Journalism and the Regeneration of News by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Paula Rego's Map of Memory by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Learning with Online and Mobile Technologies by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book In Search of Subjectivities by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Macroeconomic Foundations of Macroeconomics by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Acting, Archetype, and Neuroscience by Michael E. Bryson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy