num_pages: 186
description: The great divide in commentary on Paradise Lost is between historical and critical analysis. In his discussion of the poem, David Reid combines both approaches, at once placing it historically in terms of neoclassical humanism, and reflecting on it critically as a late twentieth-century humanist.As a historian, Reid argues that Paradise Lost shares in the cultural effort of neoclassical humanism, and yet, in its picture of volition, the poem stands apart from it - Milton's understanding of freedom, error and guilt owing more to his Protestant than to his humanist concerns. And as a critic, Reid argues that surprisingly Milton's religious understanding speaks more directly to our humanism than his splendid articulation of neoclassical humanist themes.
language: English
title: The Humanism of Milton's Paradise Lost
titlecomplete: The Humanism of Milton's Paradise Lost
publisher: Edinburgh Univ Pr