This study explores the relationship between Milton's authorship and the material production of his texts within the context of the book trade. It examines how the commercial aspects of publishing influenced Milton's writing and the dissemination of his works, offering insights into the interplay between literature and the market during his time. Through detailed analysis, the book sheds light on the historical and economic factors that shaped Milton's literary legacy.
While authors in early modern England were gaining new authority - legally, economically and symbolically - Renaissance readers also were expected to participate in and make use of an author's writings. In this book, Stephen B. Dobranski examines how the seventeenth-century phenomenon of printing apparently unfinished works ushered in a new emphasis on authors' responsibility for written texts while it simultaneously reinforced Renaissance practices of active reading. Bringing together textual studies, literary criticism and book trade history, Dobranski provides fresh insight into Renaissance constructions of authorship and offers discerning interpretations of publications by Sir Philip Sidney, Ben Jonson, John Donne, Robert Herrick and John Milton. The omissions in all these writers' works provide a unique window into English literary history: through these blank spaces we glimpse the tension between implication and inference, between writers' intentions and readers' responses and between an individual author and a collaborative community.
Engaging and lucid explanations bring Milton's life, times, and writings to life, making his works accessible and enjoyable for readers. The book offers insights that enhance understanding and appreciation of Milton's literary contributions.
"A captivating biography that celebrates the audacious, inspiring life and works of John Milton, revealing how he speaks to our times. John Milton is unrivalled--for the music of his verse and the breadth of his learning. In this brisk, topical, and inspiring biography, Stephen B. Dobranski brushes the scholarly dust from the portrait of the artist to reveal Milton's essential humanity and his unwavering commitment to ideals--freedom of religion and the right and responsibility of all persons to think for themselves--that are still relevant and necessary in our times. Milton's epic poem, Paradise Lost , is considered by many to be English poetry's masterpiece. Samuel Johnson, not one for effusive praise, claimed that "from his books alone the Art of English Poetry might be learned." But, Milton's renown rests on more than his artistic achievements. In a time of convulsive political turmoil, he justified the killing of a king, pioneered free speech, and publicly defended divorce. He was, in short, an iconoclast, an independent, even revolutionary, thinker. He was also an imperfect man--acrimonious, sometimes mean. Above all, he understood adversity. Afflicted by blindness, illness, and political imprisonment, Milton always sought to "bear up and steer right onward" through life's hardships. Dobranski looks beyond Milton's academic standing, beyond his reputation as a dour and devout purist, to reveal the ongoing power of his works and the dauntless courage that he both wrote about and exemplified"-- Provided by publisher
Critics have traditionally thought of John Milton as an author who wrote for
the ear more than the eye. In Milton's Visual Imagination, Stephen B.
Dobranski proposes that, on the contrary, Milton enriches his biblical source
text with acute and sometimes astonishing visual details.
This lively introduction to Milton's life, times and writings includes a
detailed explanation of his poetry and prose and discusses in depth the
author's historical circumstances and critical reception. Separate sections
focus on key passages from his works to illustrate how readers can interpret -
and get excited about - Milton's writings.
