‘Paradise Lost’ and Republican Tradition from Aristotle to Machiavelli
By (author) William Walker
This major interdisciplinary study re-examines the political thought of John Milton, one of the celebrated proponents of the ‘Commonwealth and Free State’ that was established in England in the mid-seventeenth century. Walker shows that in his epic poem, Paradise Lost (1667), Milton presents a heterodox Protestant vision of politics. This vision differs radically from the vision of politics presented by republicans from Aristotle to Machiavelli, and by Milton himself in his major political prose. The study is based on close readings of primary texts and scholarship in literary criticism, philosophy, theology, and the history of political thought. It is thus a powerful challenge to the current consensus on Milton’s republicanism, his Christian humanism, and the shape of his oeuvre. It is, in addition, an important contribution to our understanding of a tradition of political thought that continues to inform modern republics. Dr William Walker is Senior Lecturer in the School of English, Media & Performing Arts at the University of New South Wales. He completed an Honours BA and MA in English literature at the University of Western Ontario, and a PhD in English literature at The Johns Hopkins University. His research is focused on Locke, Milton, and the history of republican political thought.
This major interdisciplinary study re-examines the political thought of John Milton, one of the celebrated proponents of the ‘Commonwealth and Free State’ that was established in England in the mid-seventeenth century. Walker shows that in his epic poem, Paradise Lost (1667), Milton presents a heterodox Protestant vision of politics. This vision differs radically from the vision of politics presented by republicans from Aristotle to Machiavelli, and by Milton himself in his major political prose. The study is based on close readings of primary texts and scholarship in literary criticism, philosophy, theology, and the history of political thought. It is thus a powerful challenge to the current consensus on Milton’s republicanism, his Christian humanism, and the shape of his oeuvre. It is, in addition, an important contribution to our understanding of a tradition of political thought that continues to inform modern republics. Dr William Walker is Senior Lecturer in the School of English, Media & Performing Arts at the University of New South Wales. He completed an Honours BA and MA in English literature at the University of Western Ontario, and a PhD in English literature at The Johns Hopkins University. His research is focused on Locke, Milton, and the history of republican political thought.
- By (author) William Walker
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Visions of Unity after the Visigoths
Early Iberian Latin Chronicles and the Mediterranean World
Volume 26
The Presence of Medieval English Literature
Studies at the Interface of History, Author, and Text in a Selection of Middle English Literary Landmarks
Volume 14
Visions of Medieval History in North America and Europe
Studies on Cultural Identity and Power
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King John’s Delegation to the Almohad Court (1212)
Medieval Interreligious Interactions and Modern Historiography
Volume 23
A Renaissance Baron and his Possessions
Paolo Giordano I Orsini, Duke of Bracciano (1541-1585)
Volume 15
Victorine Restoration
Essays on Hugh of St Victor, Richard of St Victor, and Thomas Gallus
Volume 39
From Tyrant to Philosopher-King
A Literary History of Alexander the Great in Medieval and Early Modern England
Volume 19
Writing History in Medieval Poland
Bishop Vincentius of Cracow and the 'Chronica Polonorum'
Volume 28
Order into Action
How Large-Scale Concepts of World-Order determine Practices in the Premodern World
Volume 40
Dreams, Medicine, and Literary Practice
Exploring the Western Literary Tradition Through Chaucer
Volume 18
Luigi Pulci in Renaissance Florence and Beyond
New Perspectives on his Poetry and Influence
Volume 29
Andreas Vesalius and the ‘Fabrica’ in the Age of Printing
Art, Anatomy, and Printing in the Italian Renaissance
Volume 33
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