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Title: Milton's Satan: A Sublimely Dangerous Villain.
Creator: Grosso, Lisa A.K., Martin, Thomas L., Florida Atlantic University
Abstract/Description: In his epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton, through sublime narration, creates his Satan as a sublimely dangerous villain in accordance with Pseudo-Longinus's five principles of elevated language, as outlined in Book VIII of On the Sublime. In his treatise, the philosopher delineates that the five principles for sublime expression are the ''power of forming great conceptions," the gift of "vehement and inspired passion," the "formation of figures," the art of"noble diction," and an abi lity...
Show moreIn his epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton, through sublime narration, creates his Satan as a sublimely dangerous villain in accordance with Pseudo-Longinus's five principles of elevated language, as outlined in Book VIII of On the Sublime. In his treatise, the philosopher delineates that the five principles for sublime expression are the ''power of forming great conceptions," the gift of "vehement and inspired passion," the "formation of figures," the art of"noble diction," and an abi lity to produce "dignified and elevated composition." Foundational to sublime composition and the excellent usage of these principles is the gift of discourse. Milton, in his quest to "justify the ways of God to men" (1.26), fulfills these requirements for the sublime. As the poet-narrator, he demonstrates his mastery in transporting the audience into the realm of his imagination, sublimely conceiving, creating, and portraying his Satan to be a dangerous villain.
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Date Issued: 2007
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000923
Subject Headings: Milton, John,--1608-1674--Criticism and interpretation., Milton, John,--1608-1674.--Paradise Lost., Devil in literature., Milton, John,--1697-1674--Knowledge--Art.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: CATECHIZED BY PARADISE LOST.
Creator: Zito, Charles, Leeds, John, Florida Atlantic University, Department of English, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Abstract/Description: This work proposes to demonstrate how John Milton’s epic English poem Paradise Lost, a product of the contentious religious climate leading up to and surrounding its production, operates as a Christian catechism, or manual of belief. Spurred by the Protestant Reformation, the production of catechisms by Catholics and Protestants burgeoned during the century leading up to the composition of Paradise Lost. Catechisms structured as dialogues containing questions and answers were especially...
Show moreThis work proposes to demonstrate how John Milton’s epic English poem Paradise Lost, a product of the contentious religious climate leading up to and surrounding its production, operates as a Christian catechism, or manual of belief. Spurred by the Protestant Reformation, the production of catechisms by Catholics and Protestants burgeoned during the century leading up to the composition of Paradise Lost. Catechisms structured as dialogues containing questions and answers were especially popular during that time, and the several dialogues that exist within Paradise Lost serve as dialogue catechisms, which closely mirror the content and language of contemporaneous Reformed catechisms. Within the poem, implied readers are represented by characters, who elicit and provide lessons for real readers of the text. In this way, Paradise Lost catechizes its audience through dramatic dialogues, which introduce popular topics of theological inquiry and present answers the poem would have the reader accept, bringing the reader to a “proper” understanding of Christian faith through active and responsive reading.
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Date Issued: 2019
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013432
Subject Headings: Catechisms, Milton, John, 1608-1674 Paradise lost--Criticism and interpretation
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: THE INFLUENCE OF JOHN MILTON ON THE FICTION OF NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE.
Creator: FERRARA, ANTHONY EDWARD., Florida Atlantic University, Coyle, William
Abstract/Description: Nathaniel Hawthorne ~rew extensively on the poetry of John Milton for his fiction. Hawthorne praised Milton in his works and often referred to his poems. Many of Hawthorne's garden scenes have their symbolic roots in the Miltonic Eden, and his Blithedale Romance displays a great familiarity with Milton's! Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle (Comus). Hawthorne's late romance, The Marble Faun, employs the Miltonic theme of man's fall from grace and often parallels the structure of Paradise Lost.
Date Issued: 1975
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13754
Subject Headings: Hawthorne, Nathaniel,--1804-1864., Milton, John,--1608-1674--Influence--Hawthorne.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Paradise impaired: duality in Paradise lost.
Creator: Bernhard, Katherine Joy., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description: This thesis examines the duality of meaning conveyed by John Milton's use of language in the epic poem, Paradise Lost, specifically repetition, pairing, alliteration and puns. Following a long tradition of close readings, especially critics RA. Shoaf and Christopher Ricks, I argue that Milton conceives the Fall of Adam and Eve as a falling into polysemy, or multiplicity of signification. Very few critics have undertaken a close reading of words that signal coupling in the poem, and their...
Show moreThis thesis examines the duality of meaning conveyed by John Milton's use of language in the epic poem, Paradise Lost, specifically repetition, pairing, alliteration and puns. Following a long tradition of close readings, especially critics RA. Shoaf and Christopher Ricks, I argue that Milton conceives the Fall of Adam and Eve as a falling into polysemy, or multiplicity of signification. Very few critics have undertaken a close reading of words that signal coupling in the poem, and their relationship to pairs and oppositions relevant to Genesis. Shoaf identifies pairs and oppositions in the poem as duals and duels, and connects them to binaries in the theology. However, he overlooks a great deal of evidence which supports his theory of the dual and the duel, and also disregards many significant examples of duality in Milton's wordplay that other critics identify, including alliterative pairs and words that convey ancient etymologies.
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Date Issued: 2006
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11595
Subject Headings: Criticism and interpretation, Milton, John, 1608-1674, Language, Narration (Rhetoric), Discourse analysis, Narrative, Semiotics
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: " Merely to officiate light": the subordination and glorification of God the Son in Paradise Lost.
Creator: Cruikshank, Kathryn H., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description: This thesis considers the role and function of God the Son within the anti-Trinitarian system John Milton envisions in his epic poem, Paradise Lost. In the poem, God the Father frequently acts independently of His Son, and the divine attributes that traditionally describe the Son, including His timelessness, no longer apply to the character Milton constructs. Despite this apparent degradation, Milton still elevates the Son and considers Him to be a character worthy of our respect. To account...
Show moreThis thesis considers the role and function of God the Son within the anti-Trinitarian system John Milton envisions in his epic poem, Paradise Lost. In the poem, God the Father frequently acts independently of His Son, and the divine attributes that traditionally describe the Son, including His timelessness, no longer apply to the character Milton constructs. Despite this apparent degradation, Milton still elevates the Son and considers Him to be a character worthy of our respect. To account for this seeming paradox, I propose a reading of Paradise Lost that does not dismiss Milton's heretical belief in a subjected Son, but rather uses it as a way envision a new form of power. To do so, I compare the relationship between God the Father and His Son in terms of light and sun imagery, to demonstrate how power is divided and distributed between the two, according to the scientific principles of Milton's day. In addition, I consider how Michel Foucault's concept of the docile body both applies to the Son and explains His deference to the Father. Through these analyses, I hope to demonstrate that the Son's power exists as the result of properly exercising His free will, a will that would not have been His own had He been one with His Father.
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Date Issued: 2009
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/209988
Subject Headings: Criticism and interpretation, Religion, Symbolism in literature, God in literature, Religion and literature, Criticism and interpretation
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Satan's imprisoning words: examining the value of language in John Milton's Paradise Lost.
Creator: Ryan, Victoria., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description: Through a critique of Satan's misuse of language, John Milton's Paradise Lost makes the greater argument that language should coincide with God's creation narrative. The poem proposes a theory of how language should be used: to connect the mutable world of humans to the immutable world of God. I propose that Milton uses Satan to portray both a fear and a faith in the power of language. Satan makes language the accomplice to his sin, attempting to use language, which has the power of creating...
Show moreThrough a critique of Satan's misuse of language, John Milton's Paradise Lost makes the greater argument that language should coincide with God's creation narrative. The poem proposes a theory of how language should be used: to connect the mutable world of humans to the immutable world of God. I propose that Milton uses Satan to portray both a fear and a faith in the power of language. Satan makes language the accomplice to his sin, attempting to use language, which has the power of creating a world that seems true, to replace God's Truth. Milton's poem neither solely endorses the theory that language points directly to absolute Truth, nor does it endorse the theory that language is an arbitrary system of signs which impose meaning the world. Milton blends these two theories of language, connecting the Idealist system to what will be Friedrich Nietzsche's.
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Date Issued: 2009
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/209999
Subject Headings: Criticism and interpretation, Language, Devil in literature, Narration (Rhetoric)
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Divine alchemy in Paradise Lost.
Creator: Rutherford, Andrea J., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
Abstract/Description: This study examines the themes of alchemy and transformation in Paradise Lost and seventeenth-century thought. Beginning with an overvieiw of the historical roots of alchemy, this study analyzes the ancient, underlying philosophical concepts that marital union produces the birth of the soul and that destruction is necessary for this birth. Alchemical references identified in Paradise Lost include animal lore and direct alchemical images, which demonstrate Milton's knowledge of alchemy and his...
Show moreThis study examines the themes of alchemy and transformation in Paradise Lost and seventeenth-century thought. Beginning with an overvieiw of the historical roots of alchemy, this study analyzes the ancient, underlying philosophical concepts that marital union produces the birth of the soul and that destruction is necessary for this birth. Alchemical references identified in Paradise Lost include animal lore and direct alchemical images, which demonstrate Milton's knowledge of alchemy and his deliberate use of the alchemical metaphor. These themes support the proposal that Milton, a Christian humanist, uses alchemy as a metaphor described in this study as "divine alchemy," which begins with his belief that Christians, inheriting original sin, must submit themselves to a transformative process similar to transmutation to restore right reason and, ultimately, achieve salvation.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3358963
Subject Headings: Criticism and interpretation, Influence, Knowledge, Science, Symbolism in literature, Science in literature, Literature and science, History
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Medieval Dramatic Sources for Paradise Lost.
Creator: Doubleday, Beth, Leeds, John, Florida Atlantic University
Abstract/Description: Many scholars agree that portions of Paradise Lost show the influence of mystery and morality plays from the Middle Ages, yet it is difficult to establish the availability of these plays for John Milton. He wrote the poem during the Puritan Revolution in seventeenth-century England when medieval drama was suppressed and suspect because of its Catholic origins and content. As a Puritan propagandist, Milton might have been expected to share the Protestant distrust of medieval Catholic culture....
Show moreMany scholars agree that portions of Paradise Lost show the influence of mystery and morality plays from the Middle Ages, yet it is difficult to establish the availability of these plays for John Milton. He wrote the poem during the Puritan Revolution in seventeenth-century England when medieval drama was suppressed and suspect because of its Catholic origins and content. As a Puritan propagandist, Milton might have been expected to share the Protestant distrust of medieval Catholic culture. However, he evinced his broadmindedness both by holding theological views that were nearer to Catholic than to Calvinist orthodoxy, and by making substantial literary use of medieval sources. Although the revolution of which he was a part made it difficult for him to access medieval biblical drama, there were avenues through which these plays were available, in texts or performances, to Milton as he composed Paradise Lost.
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Date Issued: 2007
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000911
Subject Headings: Milton, John,--1608-1674.--Paradise lost., Civilization, Medieval--Influence., Civilization, Medieval, in literature., English drama--17th century--History and criticism.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Polysemy in John Milton's Paradise Lost.
Creator: Harrawood, Suzanne., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
Abstract/Description: This is a study of the polysemous language in John Milton's Paradise Lost. Unlike some of his seventeenth-century contemporaries, Milton did not harbor a mistrust of highly symbolic and interpretable language, and the fact that he did not has deep repercussions in Milton's great epic. I examine the porous and mutable nature of Edenic language, and how it challenges the idea of prelapsarian language as devoid of polysemous gloss. Prior to the Fall, Adam and Eve's perfect acquisition of...
Show moreThis is a study of the polysemous language in John Milton's Paradise Lost. Unlike some of his seventeenth-century contemporaries, Milton did not harbor a mistrust of highly symbolic and interpretable language, and the fact that he did not has deep repercussions in Milton's great epic. I examine the porous and mutable nature of Edenic language, and how it challenges the idea of prelapsarian language as devoid of polysemous gloss. Prior to the Fall, Adam and Eve's perfect acquisition of knowledge is not undermined by the symbolism of language. Nevertheless, Satan cleverly exploits the polysemy of Edenic language in order to effectuate Adam and Eve's transgression. Ultimately, Milton's Paradise Lost departs from common seventeenth-century theories about language and knowledge. Milton's view is unique in that it retains a positive view of symbolic language and suggests that postlapsarian humanity is bereft of divine guidance and left to struggle for knowledge through experience.
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Date Issued: 2009
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/332913
Subject Headings: Criticism and interpretation, Symbolism in literature, Narration (Rhetoric), Polysemy, Semiotics
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: "...At the ear of Eve": hearing, gender, and the physiology of the fall in John Milton's Paradise lost.
Creator: Pollari, Niina., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description: The organ of hearing, in John Milton's Paradise Lost, is inextricably connected with both the physical and the spiritual; it is the point of entry through which Satan's words enter Eve's brain, subsequently process, and lead eventually to the fall of mankind. Its symbolic importance is also indisputable, as it is a metaphor for the feminine passivity and penetrability that make Milton's Eve a particularly vulnerable target. There is, however, already a pre-existing connection between the ear...
Show moreThe organ of hearing, in John Milton's Paradise Lost, is inextricably connected with both the physical and the spiritual; it is the point of entry through which Satan's words enter Eve's brain, subsequently process, and lead eventually to the fall of mankind. Its symbolic importance is also indisputable, as it is a metaphor for the feminine passivity and penetrability that make Milton's Eve a particularly vulnerable target. There is, however, already a pre-existing connection between the ear and its role in Paradise Lost. The seventeenth-century medical texts of Milton's contemporaries gender the physiology of the ear and the process of hearing and therefore contribute to its importance in the pivotal temptation scene; that is, the rhetoric surrounding the physiology of the ear is the down fall of humankind in the epic poem. As a result of the dangerous connection between science and language, Milton's characters are already predestined to sin.
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Date Issued: 2006
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11583
Subject Headings: Symbolism in communication, Fall of man, Body, Human, in literature, Literature and science, History
Format: Document (PDF)

FAU Theses and Dissertations (6)	+ -
Honors Student Theses (4)	+ -

Criticism and interpretation (5)	+ -
Narration (Rhetoric) (3)	+ -
Symbolism in literature (3)	+ -
History (2)	+ -
Language (2)	+ -

Literature and science (2)	+ -
Semiotics (2)	+ -
Body, Human, in literature (1)	+ -
Catechisms (1)	+ -
Civilization, Medieval, in literature. (1)	+ -
Civilization, Medieval--Influence. (1)	+ -
Devil in literature (1)	+ -
Devil in literature. (1)	+ -
Discourse analysis, Narrative (1)	+ -
English drama--17th century--History and criticism. (1)	+ -
Fall of man (1)	+ -
God in literature (1)	+ -
Hawthorne, Nathaniel,--1804-1864. (1)	+ -
Influence (1)	+ -
Knowledge (1)	+ -
Milton, John, 1608-1674 (1)	+ -
Milton, John, 1608-1674 Paradise lost--Criticism and interpretation (1)	+ -
Milton, John,--1608-1674--Criticism and interpretation. (1)	+ -
Milton, John,--1608-1674--Influence--Hawthorne. (1)	+ -
Milton, John,--1608-1674.--Paradise Lost. (1)	+ -
Milton, John,--1608-1674.--Paradise lost. (1)	+ -
Milton, John,--1697-1674--Knowledge--Art. (1)	+ -
Polysemy (1)	+ -
Religion (1)	+ -
Religion and literature (1)	+ -

Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (6)	+ -
thesis (4)	+ -

Florida Atlantic University (4)	+ -
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College (4)	+ -
Department of English (3)	+ -
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters (3)	+ -
Leeds, John (2)	+ -

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