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 Children's Ways with Science and Literacy by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Challenges to Equality: Poverty and Race in America by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book In Defense of Decadent Europe by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Integrated Experiential Coaching by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book The Latin Church in the Crusader States by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Young Children Becoming Curriculum by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Eugenio Montale by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book The Science of Gymnastics by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book The Politics of Juridification by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book The Future of Local Economic Development by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Hometown Chinatown by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Special Needs in Ordinary Classrooms by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Distrusting Educational Technology by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Asian Popular Culture by Michael E. Bryson
Cover of the book Moral Thinking, Fast and Slow 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