GENERAL SURVEY OF MILTON *S WORKS
AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY LITERARY
TENETS
Criticism reflects both on the subject and on the
critics* So, proper assessment of it requires, at the
very out-set, a preliminary knowledge of the subject
that is criticised and that of the tenets that are
applied in criticism*
l
The Eighteenih-Century criticism of Milton simclto-
SfcAneously £et5uses on the poet and on his Eighteenth Century
critics, as it was, so to speak, the out-come of the
encounter between Milton and his Eighteenth Century criti­
cal readers.
To discuss the subject of criticism first, - Milton
was both a poet and a prose-writer* In fact, his prose
works cover three-fourth area of his literary productions,
though the author himself recognised them only as the
work of his left-hand^ and his readers, in general, recog­
nise him primarily as a poet. With the exception of a few
miscellaneous items like the two school text books, an
unfinished History of Britain and long unpublished
De Dootrina Christiana - these prose-pieces of Milton are
1* J* Milton, The Reason of the Church Government urged
against Prelacy* (1642),The Second book. " .........
I should not choose this manner of writing,wherein,
......I have the use, as I may account it, but of
my left hand."
-
:
20
;
-
all either ecclesiastical or political tracts,provoked
by the contemporary circumstances and mostly catering
to contemporary interest. To illustrate, the first five
antiepiscepal pamphlets (1641-42) deal with 'Churchreform* which was a burning
qjastion of Milton's day.
After the long parliament had pacified the civil
grievances to some extent, by disposing of Strafford,
the
tyranical minister of Charles I, the attention of
the whole nation was drawn to this issue. Milton's
teacher Young was a leading participant in the debate
and Milton initially joined the fray in defence of his
old tutor.
In 1644, Milton published the Divorce Tracts.These
pamphlets have been thought by many biographers to be
associated with the author's own unhappy matrimonial
2
venture with Mary Powell • Milton wrote Of Education
2. The most authoritative version of the fact that
Milton,being deserted by his first wife,sought to
justify himself by writing the Divorce Tracts appears
to be that of the anonymous biographer. The anonymous
biography was discovered in 1889 among the papers of
Antony Wood and first published by Jparsons in 1902
under the title of The Earliest life of Milton.
Supposition suggests Dr.Paget,(Milton's friend and
physicianX Cyriack Skinner,John Phillips(Milton's
younger nephew) - all three as its writer.
-
:
21
:
at the request of Samuel Butler, a famous public
reformer of those days, and Areonagitica fthe great
defence of the freedom of press, in protest against an
ordinance of the 1643 parliament which required, among
other things, prior censuring of books, in matters of
publication.
Milton composed Of the Tenure of Kings and
Magistrates, designedly, to silence the opposition of
the presbytarians to regicide and to reconcile the public
mind to the event itself.
After this treatise, the remaining prose works of
Milton were written in the capacity of the author*s
Official designation. As the secretary of the foreign
tongues to the council of states, Milton's most signifi­
cant work was Eikonoclastes . It was composed as
parliamentary order to counteract the menacing effect of
Eicon Basilike or King's book • The earlier book had been
written by Bishop Gauden who portrayed the character of
the king as a saint and martyr. It appeared immediately
after regicide in February, 1649, and achieved enormous
circulation within a short period.
Milton added two more tracts to this issu'e of
regicide viz.(i) The Defence of the Ehglishyrfeoole
against Salmasius (ii) The Second Defence of the Ehglish
:
22
: -
People by John Milton. Englishman - in reply to an
infamous book entitled. The Cry of the King*s Blood:,
These pamphlets were written in controversy with
Salmasius and Morus (1651-1655) • Milton also wrote a
self-defence at this period. Of these three defences,
the earliest was written in Latin as it was addressed
to the then intellectuals of the whole of Europe.
Around this period, Milton composed a theological
x
treatise De Doctrina Christiana and that too in Latin •
Milton took up the issue of Church reform once again
only after the death of Cromowell and wrote two more
tracts on this topic viz. (i) A Treatise of Civil Power
in Ecclesiastical Causes : Shewing that it is not Lawful
for any Power on Earth to Compel in Matters of Religion
(1659) and (ii) Considerations Touching the Likeliest
Means to Remove Hirelings out of the Church. Wherein is
also Discussed Tithes. Church Revenues, and whether any
Maintenance of Ministers can be Settled by L a w .
IXiring 1659-1660 the Rump parliament was extremely
busy with the controversy over the form of Government
3. This manuscript first came to light in 1823 and it
was published for the first time in 1825* John Phillips*
statements indicate that Milton began to compose it
round about 1655 while Milton himself revealed that
his preparation to write this thesis was going on
from his youth. Anyway, the work, as the preserved
manuscript gives evidence, was complete by 1661.
- s 23 : that England would finally adopt. At this stage of
affairs, Milton again came forward with his plea against
monarchy and a recommendation of a constitutional
scheme. He wrote the tract, The Readie and Easie Wav to
Establish a Free Commonwelth and the Excellences thereof with the In-coven iences and Dangers of Readmitting
Kingship in the Nation and sent it to General Monk as
’the last words of our expiring liberty! The then deciding
authority of the country however did not give sufficient
response to it.
Restoration silenced Milton for years at a stretch.
It was only after the king issued, in 1672,the Declaration
of Indulgence that his voice was heard again. The Decla­
ration granted freedom of worship to the nonconformists.
But both the Dissenters and the Anglicans raised such a
/
cry against it, that the parliament rescinded it in the
following year. At this stage, Milton published his tract,
Of True Religion.Heresy. Toleration and the Growth of
Popery in 1973. Through it he gave a call to all the
protestant sects to assemble in mutual charity and hold
a tolerant attitude towards differences on non-essential
points of doctrine.
Milton's last recommendation for republicanism to
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conveys Melton's gratitude to
his father for providing him opportunities to live up
to his taste. In Mansus.Milton seems to be proud of his
association with this great Italian patron of Arts.The
poet wrote some other poems also in Latin like those on
Gunpowder -^lot , in quintum Novembers'; and the elegies
commemorating the death of university dignitaries
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mood with which we can hardly associate the Milton we
generally know. Here the poet imagined him to be surroun­
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for writing in an alien or unintelligible tongue(lingua
ignota/V strana)• He also described how he was punished
by oupid for his former stubbornness against love
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revealed the name of the lady as Emelia in a riddling
fashion. Milton addressed these sonnets to Charles
Diodati.
Milton's Greek poems were mostly written during his
school days. Only a few like the Greek translation of
5. Sonnet III. Milton Poetical Works, ed., Doglus
Bush, Oxford (1973) P.79»
:
26
:
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Psalm 144 ( c.Dec, J , 1634), or Phllosonhus and Reaem
were written afterwards. But none o f the whole lo t
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written in l&iglish. These Qiglish poems are usually
categorised as major poems and minor poems. The former
group consists of a long epic on cla ssica l model v iz .
Paradise lo s t a b rie f epic on b ib lic a l model v iz .
Paradise Regained and a tragedy on Greek model v iz .
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includes numerous and various items lik e :
(1) On the Death of a Fair Infant. Dying o f a Cough,
in seven lin e stanzas - a b a b b e c -
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fin a l Alexandrine,
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in heroic couplet^,
(3) Ode on the Morning o f C hrist's Nativity in the
metrical scheme o f a6, a6, b10, 06, b10, d8
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28
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(10) Two masques^, viz* Arcades and Comus ,
(11) A Pastoral viz. Lvcidas12. and
(12) Eighteen Sonnets, celebrating mainly three
kinds Of subjects like significant public
events, great personalities and personal
emotions
13
.
11. The former of the two masques,i.e. Arcades consists
of three songs and a recitation in pentameter
couplets and the latter viz Comus celebrates the
triumph of virtue through chastity.
12. It is a pastoral elegy in iambic pentameter which is
occasionally varied by the introduction of three-foot
lines and closing with a stanza in Ottva-Rima. The
poem mourns the death of Edward king,a college mate
of the poet,who was drowned in the Irish Sea and
embodies all the setconventions of Elegy like the
mourning of nature, the representation of the poet
and his friend as shepherds who feed their flocks
together, a tendency to introduce an attack on the
corruption of church,ecclesiastical allegory,medita­
tion on fame etc.
13. The first category may be exemplified by On the Late
Massacre in #iedmont.two poems on the reception of
his Divorce Tracts and the twenty line sonnet On the
New Forces of Conscience under the long Parliament ;
personal emotions are celebrated in *To the nigghtingale1 On his being Arrived to the Age of Twenty-three,
two poems on his blindness and one poem written in
memory of his Second wife ; the third category consists
of the sonnets to Cromwell. Vane* Fairfex.and addresses
to Laves. Skinner, fedward Lawrence.Lady Margaret L ey.
and the unidentified virtuous young lady of Sonnet IX
and the elegy for Mrs. Katherine.
29
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30
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many controversies due to some
expressed by the author^* Some
cant of Milton's heterodoxies,(as also enumerated by
Lewis), are his view of Christ as a being divine but
distinctly lower than God, and of holy Ghost still
lower in importance
, his denial of the almost
universally accepted doctrine that God created the
world out of nothing
16
and his conviction that matter
was as eternal as the spirit and even a part of God
Himself which implies that at death the whole man dies
and there is no separate continued existence of the
. .17
spirit .
Milton dealt exhaustively in his works with
politics too. In prose, The Defence of the Ehglish
J^onle against Salmasius. The Second Defence of the
English^p^onle. by John Milton. Thglishman: in Reply
to an Infamous Book Entitled "The Cry of the Kings'
Blood in Controversy with Salmasius and Morus. The
Readie and Easie Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth
and the Excellenoe there-of with the Inconveniences and
14. C.S.Lewis."A Preface to Paradise Lost(l960)
Chapter XII.
15. De Doctrina Christiana.Chan.V. 'On the Son'
16. De Doctrina Christiana.Chans-I and VII.Paradise
Lost bk V,HJ 402 ft.
17. Ibid.
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as a whole.
M ilton 's d ic tio n a lso caused great c r i t i c a l
controversy from the very beginning o f the p o e t 's
c r i t i c a l h e rita g e . C r it ic s do not vary so much in
th e ir opinions about i t s nature as they do in th e ir
re a ctio n s to i t . Both M ilton 's admirers and adversa­
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This 'uniqueness' was created by the poet by some
obvious r h e to r ic a l d e v ice s.
Among them the most important are in version o f
the natural word-order or phrase-order 19 , omission o f
20
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c o lle c t io n s o f more or le s s e x o tic proper names^^ and
use o f unusual compound e p ith e ts analogous to those in
23
Homer . In prose, M ilton 's language is marked by the
19.
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2 3.
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25.
Paradise L ost, bk V 11 219-20,
Paradise L ost, bk V. 11 1047-48,
Ib id bk I , I 469; bk 11,11 552-4,
Dgf4J;, bk I j I 798.
eg, 'a r e e d ', ' w ons', * em p rise', 'n o c e n t ', ' a t t i r e ' ,
Ib id bk XI 11 388-91.
eg, 'n ig h t warbling b i r d ', 'a three b olted th u n der'.
22
:
33
: -
OrvA
length of his sentences and use of bombastic^ pedantic
words in general. These rhetorical devices of Milton’s
works, however, do not appeal to all. The critics, who
praise Milton's diction, appreciate these devices all
right,but those, who do not relish Milton's diction,
condemn it for these very devices. The literary charac­
teristics of Milton's works, as discussed above, have
remained what they are for all ages. But readers of
different ages, with different critical tenejfits in
their mind, came to interprete them in various ways and
either praised or discarded them according to their
different taste and temperament.
Like the critics of any other age the Eighteenth
Century literary critics also had their own tenets of
literature and when they judged Milton they applied
these criteria. So, to properly appreciate their criticism
e
of Milton we must be thoroughly a’
quainted with their
peculiar tenets which have been,of course,already hinted
at in the study of Eighteenth Century literary background
in the introduction. The Eighteenths Century men of
letters, being primarily humaninsts, held that the main
aim of literature was to produce social man according to
34
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35
:
by some divinely sanctioned laws with general human
nature as the microcosm of this mechanical order. It
also cherished a notion that with respect to man there
is a permanent truth of human behaviour and also a
principle of reason and order which men should obey.
To reveal this grasp of reality properly, the
Eighteenth Century men of letters forsook ‘heroes' and
took ‘ordinary man' in the form of a variety of living
persons, as the basic material for literature and with
regard to language, they advocated the ideals of propri­
ety, perspiquity, elegance and cadence in place of the
experimenting exuberance of the complex and unstable
fashion of the Seventeenth Century speech
2ft
. They
cherished these ideals also to satisfy their craze for
the rule of order which, they thought, had a divine san­
ction behind it, and accepted it also as a natural counter­
balancing measure against the disorder, eccentricity and
extravagence of the literature of the previous age.
But the Eighteenth century literatars,however, were
not obsessed by their ideal of the rule of order and
reason. Enlightened by Longinus* Treatise On the Sublime
28. For further elaboration.: of these four ideals^ Vide
F.W.Bateson Ehglishnfeoetry and Ehglish Language
(1934) PP 47-587
7“
-
they learnt
36
:
to p r e f e r
creative genius
S^ciSSMxBsaHPCfcBE m a i n t a i n
in l i t e r a t u r e w a s
itself
: -
that
to
it a n d
c a m e to
the r u l e o f o r d e r a n d
to h e v a l u e d o n l y w h e n
the d i s c i p l i n a r y a c t i o n
of some
reason
it w o u l d p r o v e
thing
energetically
alive.
With much understanding
their literature,
of
the m i n d
expression.
truths.
in
But
The
'energy'
out n e w
and
of Boileau
th e
familiar
of impressing
truths,
especially
30 .
their
On
th e o t h e r h a n d ,
the
them with a vigorous
with
for
a range of
orderseeking mind
This N e o - c l a s s i c i s m was,
however,also
E s s a y s .introduction.
easily
responsible
29* Atkins. En g l i s h
terarv Criticism; 17th and
o a i t u r t e s ( 1 9 5 D , P P 40-1, 5 6 , 6 3 , 9 9 , 1 6 3 .
30. J . E . S n i n g r a m . Critical
first
subsequently were reinforced
skill and also
in w h i c h
cherished
which Dryden
themesand a strenthening concern
discipline and verbal
the ideas
of plain
of l e t t e r also
"clarity"
of classicism encouraged
literary kinds
ways
in
•
from Corneille and
grasp of social
fitted.
29
find
fresh
Eighteenth Century men
the i n f l u e n c e
revival
only recite
discover
"Wit"
copy out
concrete correlatives
even
subjects
ideals of
inherited
them,would
Wit w o u l d n o t
sometimes
of non-human
by
exact
It w o u l d a l s o
them and
the
which.for
they di d w e l c o m e
18th
:
37
: -
for some of their external conceptions of literary graces
which ultimately led to the loss of certain linguistic
subtlities in their literature. For example, it introdu­
ced an undesirable lump of unassimilated latin diction
into their language and made the Eighteenth Century poetry,
in particular, grossly heavy and artfully deliberate. But,
still, no words would suffice to describe what the
Eighteenth Century literatwra; owed to the fire of Homer,
dignity of Virgil, energy of Juvenal, eloquence of Cicero,
31
pith of Seneca or urbanity of Horace' .
Spreading over the whole of a century, the conditions
of the Eighteenth Century literary world, however,underwent
many changes in course of time. These changes were brought
about by a basic temperamental evolution in the literary
outlook which was, again, correlated with a transitional
process in the general temper of the age. %
this evolution
a psychology of reason and the conscious mind, which was
the underlying literary spirit in the first half of the
century, turned into a psychology of subtle intuition in
the later half, and in matter of language, the experimenting
exuberance of Jacobean speech moderated into sensible,
31* A.R.Humpreys, The Literary Scene.The\elican Guide
to Englttfe Literature,bk IV*ed.Boris fbrd(1968)
PP 58-59.
:
38 : -
well-directed idioms with the Hanoverians*
Thus, the literary men in the late Eighteenth
Century came to possess a growing sensitiveness and
spirituality in art. They showed an increasing pleasure
in natural landscape, a prepossession for the primitive
and renewed interest in a pre^estoration style* On the
other hand, they re v i s e d concern and sensitiveness to
all human activities, in general. They regained interest
in nature, colour and romance. This developing 'romantic*
attitude and humanitarian sentiment in the second half
of the century along with the political and religious
liberalism and the influence of Longmnus in the first
half, made the atmosphere of the whole of the Eighteenth
Century very much congeniel for the proper understanding
and appreciation of the essential qualities of Milton's
works. To elaborate, political and religious liberalism
neutralized, to a great extent, the critical antipathy
towards Milton as a man and thinker and gained for him
immense praise as an advocate of republicanism and
d^ivine poet. Longinus taught the critics to appreciate
the sublime qualities of Milton's works and with the
oncoming of the Romantic current Melton began to be all
the more recognised and appreciated as the representative
of true ideal from which poetry had since declined, and
accorded'the same rank as that of Shakespeare and Spensor,
. s 39 : which was far above that of the accepted writers of
32
the day • Eighteenth Century offered Milton maximum
number of readers and provided him with maximum
critical appreciation. Thorpe said, "it is difficult
to imagine a more exalted poetic reputation, and the
Eighteenth Century attitude towards Milton will never
be duplicated in favour of any other Writer"^
32. For further elaboration of the point Vide J.Thorpe,
Milton criticism (1951) introduction,PP 4-8,
33. ->bbi<t, p 8.
GENERAL STUDY OF EIGHTEENTH C M TORY
MILTON CRITICISM.
.
The hold of moral and religious faith being the
7 i
most deeprooted aspect of Eighteenth Century life5 ,the
literary critics of the age,in their assessment of
Milton, attached maximum value to the poet's religious
teachings. They considered Paradise Lost as the most
significant work of the poet. They made exhaustive
study of the epic and came to look upon it as a poetical
version of their universally accepted theology. Paradise
Lost
was venerated as a principal support of the orthodox
-TV
creed and appealed equally to Anglicans, Dissejters, Roman
Catholics and the Deists. All the important critics of
the age like Dennis, Addison, Defoe, Jghn Hughes, Elijah
Fenton, Dr .Johnson, and Natheniel Salmon, devoted their
studies exclusively^on this poem and in their discussions,
the critics scattered the epithets "sacred" and "divine"
with a lavish hand.
However, the heterodox elements in Milton's theology
which wSre later confirmed by the discovery of De Doctrina
did not go totally unnoticed by his Eighteenth Century
critics. Its affinity with Arianism and Socianism was
hinted at by Toland. Jonathon Richardson too focussed on
34. For further elaboration of the fact Vide,0.S.Lewis
De Descriptions Temnorum. (1955) passim
-
:
41
:
-
it in his Explanatory Notes and Remarks on Paradise Lost
in 1734# Again, in 1738-9 a German Magazine and 'the
e
Daily Gazettetr• to which J.T.Shawcross had referred in
the introduction to his Milton and Critical Heritage
(1970) debated the issue whether Milton corrupted our
notions of spiritual things deliberately and wantonly,
by gross and sensual representation and blending
heathenism
unnatural medley. But
after all, such issues did not get much circulation
among the Eighteenth Century readers as they felt sort
of uneasy to question what appeared to them only a poetic
version of their own religious beliefs*
The Eighteenth Century critic® highly prated Milton,
also for the sublimity of his thought and they maintained
that this characteristic of Milton's poetic genius was
most impressively displayed in Paradise Lost* They,indeed,
to speak in Dennis' language, reserved their highest
praise for the poet "all for one thing and that is for
having carried away the prize of sublimity from both the
Ancients and Moderns"
3*5
. Simultaneously, Milton was
accorded more and more explicit recognition as a champion
35* Dennis' letter to Dr. S m, The Critical Works of
John Dennis, ed by E.N.Hooker(1939), ii p* 221.
s 42 : -
the inwardness and freedom of true poetry by the
p r e c u r s o r s of the Romantic movement who were counter
balancing the rationalising 'correct school of Pope.'
M
But,
the Eighteenth Century critics themselves being
Neo-classicists, also sometimes felt uneasy with Milton's
^ u nconventional craftsmanship. Even such on admirer of
Milton as Addision could not but confess that he thought
that the fable of Paradise Lost was defective and some
of the incidents in the poem lacked in probability.
Addison also said that Milton's autobiographical digress­
ions and allusions to heathen fables in his epic were
against the canon of unity*^ • John Dennis too declared
Paradise Lost to be the most lofty but most irregular
poem that has been produced by the mind of Man
. Dr.
Johnson pointed to the want of human interest, confusion of
spirit and matter, and the defect in the conduct of
•Z
the narrative in the epic
Q
•
But a good number of Eighteenth Century critics
like Leland were so charmed by the sole characteristic
36* J.Addison.The
37
38 .
necta t o r .No.297.Feb' 9,1712.
-f
J.Dennis.The Grounds of Criticism in Poetry(1704)
in The Critical Works of John Dennis ed,E.N.Hooker
(1939) I PP 333-4.
Samuel Johnson.L-jves of ^oets. selected and intro­
duced by S.C.Roberts,(1968) PP 238-40.
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44 :
Milton's prose works also drew attention of the literarystudents*
The Eighteenth Century readers of Milton did not
stop only with appreciating and criticising the poet.The
practicing poets among them also tried to imitate him.
They wrote maximum amount of blank verse, utilising
Miltonic mannerisms, like^atinism, inversion of natural
word-orders and collections of sonorous proper names. The
prominent followers were John Philip (The 8nlendid
.Shilling, 1701), Thompson (The Seasons. 1726-1730) and
Cowper (The Task). But the sword of Achilles was too mighty
for these poets and they, though often succeeded in follow­
ing the external aspects of Milton's poetry, mostly failed
to copy Milton's spirit and inspiration.
The poems which p r o v A most influential were Paradise
Lost. L 'A1legro
and II Penseroso. The pair of lyrics, for
their combination of freshness and poetic enthusiasm with
precision of workmanship and restraint of mood, made them
particularly adoptable to the transitional stage between
the passing away of the Neoclassical phase and advent of
Romantic period. Cowper, Gray, and Thomson derived much
inspiration from them.
-
:
45
:
-
The Eighteenth Century critics paid their attention
to Milton's biography also. They were able to judge
Milton the man with more or less, an unbiased mind as
the political problems posed by his debates with Salmasius, More, and Ik. Mouline a half century before had,
by this time, almost dissipated themselves, Still, some
staunch Tories like Johnson could not so easily forget
and forgive Milton the Republican and they could not but
always think of Milton's character as obliquely informed
by spiteful republicanism and displeasing personal quali­
ties.
During the Eighteenth Century, Milton was, for the
first time, introduced to the wide continental stage.
His works were translated in Latin, Greek, Italian,French,
German and other languages. Paolo Rolli Translated
Paradise Lost in 1729 and Cornus
in 1737 ? Handel adgted
the companion poems in Italian in 1740. In 1730,transla­
tion of all the poems of Milton were published in The
Hagus in three volumes and to them a critical disserta­
tion on Paradise Lost by Constantine de Maguy, and a
discussion of
The fall of Man by M.Darand were added.
: 46 s -
Critical letters on Paradise Lost and Paradise
Regained came out in 1731• Further translations of
collected or individual poems continued through the
century. Theatrical and musical adaptations of parts
of Paradise Lost were produced in France in 1736,1742,
1758 and 1763. Paradise Lost and the companion poems
were translated in to German in 1740 and 1782 respec­
tively. Hayden's setting of The Creation was written
in 1798.
The foreigners were impressed mainly by Milton's
ideas, They attached great significance to his political
ideology and philosophy. But Miltonic style and
technique did not appeal to them much and Paradise Lost
was mostly censured by them as a violator of classical
rules. They did not pay much attention to Milton's
prose, neither did they feel much in teres
Milton's personal life^ .
■ >
During the Eighteenth century, Milton scholarship
44
also advanced to a great extent. A line of distinguished
editors and commentators were engaged in^fetudy of
Milton's biography, explanation and illustration of his
43* For continental reputation of Milton during Eighteenth
Century Vide J.T.Shawcross.Milton and Critical
Heritage (1970) introduction.
44. Ibid.
:
47
: -
poems and discovery of sources and analogues of
Paradise Lost ,in particular*
The most sensational edition of the age was that
of Richard Bentley (1732). It reconstituted Paradise
Lost according to classical methods,
amending and
slashing many original passages which offended the
editor's
classical taste. Bentley had an idea that
some former editor,
taking advantage of Milton's blind-
nessjhad interpolated some passages of his own in
Milton's poem and made some changes here and there to
the detriment of original meaning and metre.
In his
edition Bentley wanted to make up for such interpola­
tions and changes. But Bentley's endeavour met only with
ridicule instead of appreciation. The single person who
appreciated h i m and is worthy of mention, was William
Em p s o n •
The- two Jonathon Richardson!^ father and son,
published Explanatory Notes and Remarks on Paradisp Lost
in 1734* The father provided some biographical details
about Milton, while the son offered some learned explana­
tions of the scholarly allusions in the poem. Both were
sympathetic in their interpretation of Milton's life and
art.
:
48
:
-
In 1740, Francis Pick, discussed Milton's style
and language and method of composition in New Memoirs
of the Life and _6o etical Works of John Milton and also
made a biographical study of the poet.
In 1749*Thomas Newton published the first variorium edition of Paradise Lost and added a new 'life' to
it. It was highly appreciated by contemporary readers.
Later, it provided the basis of Henry Todd's complete
variorium of Milton's poetical works in 1801.
The Eighteenth Century Milton scholars also inves­
tigated the sources of the poet's literary borrowings.
William Landor, in 1749, claimed to have traced the
originals of Paradise Lost in
Hu^o Grptiuj’Latin
drama Adamas Exul. On the other hand, Hayley, being a
follower of Voltaire, discovered similarities between
Paradise Lost and Adamo of Andreine, while Dunster thought
that Sylvester's Du Brutas exerted the primary formative
influence on Milton's style in Paradise Lost^
Thus, the above study shows, throughout the Eigh*
teenth Century, critics, scholars, biographers-all were
deeply concerned with Milton and reacted to his thoughts
and art with a congenial and appreciative attitude.
44. For Eighteenth Century Milton scholarship vide J
Thorpe,/Milton1Criticism/-.(1962) Introduction.
BRIEF STUDY OF MILTON CRITICISM IK THE
SEVENTEENTH. NINETEENIH & TWENTIETH CENTURIES,
For a better appreciation ef the unique character
of Eighteenth Century Milton criticism , a b rief study of
Milton Criticism of other ages also is necessary by way
of comparison and contrast*
To start with M ilton's contemporary reception,46
the poet, to speak the naked truth, faile d to procure
t h e ‘f it audience though few'among his contemporary readers
who only paid some attention to his political and r e lig i­
ous pamphlets and were, more or less, indifferent to his
literary works* Ironically, immediately after the poet's
death ,critics started their discussions both about his
l i f e and his literary works in full swing, covering all
the three main areas of edition, biography and literary
criticism *
Some idea about the contemporary reception of Milton
may be partially formed from re-issues of M ilton's works
within the seventeenth century* Among M ilton's prose
________ _____________________________________________ ___________ _________
*
46* For contemporary reception of Milton vide W.R.Parker,
Milton's Contemporary Re~nutation( 1940) passim ,B.Rajan.
Paradise L o s t a n d t h e Seventeenth Century reader(1947)
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51
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God" and Robert Baillie with reference to the same tract
observed, "Mr.Mil ton permits any man to put away his wife
upon mere pleasure, without fault and without the cogni­
sance of any judge".
Of Education and Areopagitica received scanty/attention. The Tenure ofv^ings and Magistrates (1649),however
attracted the attentiin of the then Government and a
slightly amplified edition was called for in the next
year.
Among Milton's works as Secretary of Foreign
tongue, Eikonoclastes and the first Defence were frequen­
tly noticed or referred to by the contemporary detractors
of the poet and they evoked a number of rebuttals
4Q
. In
1660, they were destroyed in 'public burning of seditious
materials' by parliamentary order. The First Defence was
also burned in continent in 1651* This First Defence was
the most republished and revised of all Milton's works
during the author's life-time and it was translated into
Dutch and in other languages including Ehglish in 1692.
48. Both the comments of Ephraim^psagitt and Robert
Baillie are quoted from Shawcross.Milton and
Critical Heritage^1970) Introduction.
49. For illustration of the fact vide J.T.Shawcross,
Milton and Critical Heritage (1970) Introduction.
-
:
52
:
-
The two other Defences were not much known or
read. The controversy over regicide and that with
Salmasius,however, became the topic of two German
dissertations, published in 1653 and 16 57 .
Of the four pamphlets of 1649—60,
the fir s t two
received no notices at a l l . But The Readie and Easie
Way to Establish a Free 9/nmmmnwealth was accorded
immediate citation and two lengthy answers. The work
was so much in demand that a Second edition was called
for within a month of its fir s t appearance. But, it was
after a l l , unable to make any impact, either in stemming
the Restoration or in alternating its nature. The fourth
pamphlet v i z . Brief Notes upon a Late Sermon also drew
attentii/n and was retarded by a stinging attack in Sir
Roger Be Strange’ s No Blinde Guides. Of True Religion.
Heresie. Schism, and Toleration was alluded to by
Leigh in his The Transposer Rehearsed.
Of the remaining items of M ilton's prose works
jAccedence Commenn't Grammar. History of B ritain . The
Art of Logic and
^cxvail as f e t t e r s or p ro lu sio n s. The
Character of the Long Parliament, and Declaration or
letters Patents of the Election of John Sobeiski of
Poland had gone quite unnoticed by his contemporaries,
S 53 : except a side glance to the Grammar and one or two
advertisements and some manuscript notations of the
History of Britain.
The contemporary reception of Milton's poems was
more pathetic. The collected edition of Milton's minor
poems was first issued in 1645 with separate title
pages and paginations, obviously to appeal to different
kinds of readers. Prior to this edition,certain number
of poems like On Shakespeare. An Epitaph on the
Marchioness of Winchester.(1632-1640). On Time, two
or three poems on Hobson, A Maske (1637) and Epitaphium
Damoftis (1640) had been already in print. This new
collected edition printed all the earlier publications,
with a few exception. The contemporary reception of
this volume,however, was not at all encouraging. Copies
of it laid unsold for years and allusions to it also
were pathetically lacking. Indeed, there is no evidence
at all of contemporary awareness of this collectidn *
edition.
Even such a literary event as the publication of
Paradise Lost did not seem to be of much significance
to Milton's contemporaries. In 1668 and 1669, unsold
copies of the epic were offered to the public with new
: 54 :
title pages to give the impression of new edition#.
Moreover, to aid the unfit audience and increase the
sale, prose arguments were added to the finished poem.
Such bibliographical evidences point to the obvious
fact that Paradise Lost did not sell well among the
poet's contemporaries. Still,a new edition was called
for in 1674. In this edition book VII and Book X were
divided into two each and fifteen lines were added
here and there. But even such alterations could not
improveisale of the epic and there was a reissue of
1674 edition with the new title pages in 1675. During
Milton's life-time, the epic was able to exact two
allusions only, one by Edward Riilips, and the other
by Richard Leigh.
Paradise Regained, on the other hand - however
unexpected it may seem when one considers the contempo­
rary reception of Paradise Lost, was accorded the
honour of being examined in a full study by Richard
Mefcdowcourt
50
• Samson Agonistes. with all its ideas
about tragedy elaborated in its preface, however, failed
50. R.Medowcourt. A critical Dissertation on Milton's
Paradise Regained (1732)
55
:
-
to draw the attention of the literary critics of the
day. Both Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes had
to wait until 1680 for a second edition.
Ironically, there was a sudden surge of critical
discussions both about the poet's life and his works,
immediately after his death.
In the field of edition, Sir Thomas Pope Blount
and Patric Hume, were the first to offer Milton a
purely scholarly treatment by pulling together references
and extensive annotations on him and his works. Sir
Blount, in his edition (1694), assembled the rather inci­
dental comments of Dryden, Thomas Rhymer and the
Aethenian Gazette. Patric Hume printed extensive learned
annotations to Paradise Lost in 1695* and also provided
biblical, Classical and etymological sources and
analogues. From 1690 onward, the number of the editions
of Milton's works was ever increasing. But unfortunately,
no bibliography of them has remained for us. We are
moreover baffled over repaints and slightly altered
editions in various sizes or papers.
Milton, immediately after his death, drew the
-
:
56
:
-
attention of the biographers also
51
• The earliest
biographers of the poet were John Aubrey, Edward
Phillips, Cyriack Skinner (the so called anonymous
biographer) John Toland and Jonathon lichardson.
These men, in their works, supplied concrete data
about the poet's life and a major area for the discu­
ssions and evaluations of the author and his works.
The most complete of Seventeenth Century Miiiton
biographjeswas Edward Phillip's aboount. Philips being
Milton's nephew and pupil, his statements carried
special significance though he was often discovered to
52
have erred in dates and specific facts^ •
The so called Anonymous Biography of Milton is
almost equally important. The author (whether he was
Dr.Paget, or Cyriack Skinner or John Phillips) wrote,
with an intimate and sympathetic understanding of the
poet's political and religious ideas and seems to be
particularly well informed about his literary habits
and amanuenses. This biography has got a special signi­
ficance as it furnishes a systematic account of Milton's
life, parallel to or independent of that of Phillip's
51. For Milton's earliest biographers vide HanrffordjA
Milton Handbook(1961)Chap.I.
/
52. Edward Phillips' biography of Milton was first
printed in 1694.
53* The Anonymous biography was first discovered in
1889 among the papers of Antony Wood and first
published by Parsons in 1962.
55
•
-
:
57
: -
John Aubrey was another supplier of first hand
materials
ton biography. Aubrey himself knew
the poet personally. Moreover, he collected materials
also from the poet's relatives whom he gave due recog­
nition, in his notes, by acknowledging the sources of
his information. Though Aubrey occasionally did gossip,
154.
his notes are,on the whole, trustworthy •
John Toland and Jonathon Richardson also contributed some new items'. Toland*s biography is full of
critical comments on Milton's works. It seems the
t*
biographer was very antipathetic to Mil tore political
ideology and his anathema caused him much troubles in
1699.
Soon, after his death, the literary critics also
accorded Milton a warm reception. They, from the very
beginning, recognised him as the £hief representative
of the heroic tradition and often compared him with
Homer and Virgil. Paradise Lost drew their attention
most and influenced by the translation of Longinus,
54. John Aubrey's notes of Melton were first published
by William Godwin in his Ljfje of E & J. Phillips
and subsequently by Andrew ydlark in his edition of
Aubrey's Brief Lives.
'
55. John Toland*s The L^fe of Milton was first publish­
ed in 1698 and Jonathon Richardson wrote Explanatory
Notes and Remarks on Milton's Paradise Lost in 1734
the leading critics of the day like Dryden,Roscommon,
Buckingham and Gildon, labelled him as the most
sublime poet that Ehgland had ever produced. In 1092,
Samuel Wesley made a comparative study of Milton and
Edward Waller in the Athenian Gazette. There, the
author maintained that Milton was not so much a general
poet as a sublime and great one, for despite the length
of Paradise Lost, the cmrpus of his poetry was relati­
vely small, when one considered the number of individual
poems. The comments is indicative of a knowledge of
Milton's minor poems, critical considerations of which
were however pathetically lacking until Thomas Warton's
edition in 1785*
Milton was, at this time, often compared with
Francis Quarles, too, of course - by those only, who
looked for religious sentiment in poetry. The poet's
fame was recorded by William preston, John Hughes and
Charles Goodall.
Paradise Lost brought loftiest praises as well
as most serious censures for Milton from his Seventeenth
Century critics, of wham Dryden was the pioneer.Dryden's
comments represented almost all the censures and
appreciations of his fellow critics. He attacked the
stresses of Miltonic verse that seemed to him dull and
harsh of sound and criticised the subject of Paradise
Lost
as lacking propriety for an epic. Dryden was
unhappy with Milton's language also. It seemed to him
antiquated and neologistic. The critic:
declared
Milton's blank verse to be completely unde^fensible. In
1697, again, Dryden made the historical observation(in
terms of the plot-construction of Milton's epic) that
it was definitely the devil whom the poet selected as
hero in Paradise Lost. This observation of Dryden intro­
duced a distinct tradition in Milton criticism which has
continued through Blake and Shelley till d a t e ^
Indeed, many of Drydtn's scattered comments like
"his (Milton's) subject is not that of an heroic poem,
properly so called", or "antiquated words were his
choices, not his necessity", or "neither will I justify
Milton for his blank verse"- became the foundation
Pillars of the whole complex of Milton's critical heritage
in course of time.
56. Dryden's critical opinions about Milton are scattered
in his Preface to the Second Miscellmniy.Essay on
Satire ( 1&93). The State of Innocence
: 60 :
In spite of all his censures, Dryden highly
appreci4ted the excellences of Milton's poetry on
various occasions. His ' Epigram", his comments in the
preface to The State of Innocence bear ample evidence
of his appreciative attitude. Dryden declared.Paradise
Lost us undoubtedly one of the^greatest, most notable
and sublime poems which either this age or nation had
produced. We may add to this his remarks to Lord
Bukhurst about the poet that "This man cuts us all and
the ancients too". His Epigram also was an epitome of
his critical admiration of Milton
57
.
Both Dryden's censures and praises were repeated
again and again by his fellow critics. Edward Bettit and
Charles Leslie were among the major Milton detractors
of Dryden's day. The former, in a satiric vision of
Purgatory, saw Milton as one really on the side of the
papal forces because of his arguments against monarchy
while the latter launched a*n attack against Milton's
unorthodox treatment of the angels, God and the incarna­
tion in his epics.
57* Dryden's epigram was printed beneath Milton's
portrait in Paradise Lost, ed., Jacob Tonson,1688.
— : 61 : —
The important Milton admirers of Seventeenth
Century were Roscommon, Buckingham, Gildon and Ellwood.
From the materials collected by Shawcrosb in his Mil ton
and Critical Heritage, (1970) it is obvious that these
critics, irrespective of the various levels of their
opinions, ranked Milton as a supremely great poet in
spite of the irregularity and non-conformity of his epic.
Roscommon was a great supporter of Milton*s blank verse
and he expressed his very support in blank verse. John
Dennis echoed Roscommon's conclusions in 1692. But
Thomas Rhymer sharply differed from them about this point.
Being a strict adherent to rhyme, Rhymer was so disgusted
with Milton's blank verse that he labelled Paradise Lost
as la work which some are pleased to call a poemi This
comment of Rhymer was often cited by his followers in
later days.
Milton's debate with Salmasius and (torus made him
familiar to the international audience even within
^
Seventeenth Century, and English, Latin or German editions
of Paradise Lost introduced him to an ever-widening conti­
nental literary circle. To the foreigners Milton's
political ideology seemed to be the most significant
aspect of his works and they, generally, did welcome him
62
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Only a few critics, like Landor, Hunt, De Quency,Ruskin,
Henry Hallam, Macaulay and Emerson showed some concern
for Milton’s thought. But even they did not find it to
be sufficiently attractive and worthy. Thus, their
verdict on Milton’s thought was diametrically opposite
to that of the Eighteenth Century critics. The Majority
of the Romantic critics discovered that Milton’s thought
was primarily theology and that also a worthless one.
Thorpe described the present position of Milton criticism
with a metaphor that during this period Milton’s expre­
ssion was like a shrine for critical pilgrims while the
mansion of his thought was a dilapidated house frequented only by ghosts.
Milton's craftsmanship, which did not matter much
to the Eighteenth Century critics, appealed to the
Romantics very much mainly due to its two characteristics
viz artificiality and musical quality.
The most significant admirers of Milton’s artistry
in this age were John Keats and S.T.Coleridge. Milton's
poetic luxury haunted the former for a long time. The
restraint and dignity of Milton's utterances taught
59* J» Thorpe, Milton Criticism P.14
-
:
64
«
-
Keats the primary lessons o f d isciplin e in poetry and
the romantic poet clearly acknowledged his debt to his
predecessor. He also revealed in one o f his le tte r s how
he being inspired by Paradise Lost once started to
compose a blank verse epic himself on the Miltonic
pattern. But Keats could soon realise that i t was not
possible for him to imitate the writer o f Paradise Lost .
for their paths were basically different^®.
Ljke Keats, Coleridge, too, was primarily concer­
ned with Milton's craftmanship. He was specially
charmed with the epic p o e t's artistry in the use o f his
language and the melody o f his sty le . In the former, he
discovered a certain degree o f highly sophisticated
" a r t ific ia lit y " to which he attached great positive value
and he spoke very highly about Miltonic music to o ^ •
Appreciation of Milton's a r tis tic achievements,in
fa ct, continued throughout!Nineteenth Century. In the
mid-century,Macaulay, Channing,Emerson and Tennyson
60. For K#ts' attitude to Milton Vide his le tte r s dated
May 3,1818 ; August 14, 1819? September 21, 181961, Coleridge's speech delivered in 1818, Lecture X.
Coleridge's speech on Milton was printed in Literary
Remains in 1836,
-
: 65 s -
expressed unqualified praise for Milton*s technique.
Some critics like Landor, De Quincey, Hunt, Henry
Hallam and Ruskin, however, in spite of their full
approbation of the poet’s artistry, maintained some
reservation with regard to his/^tinism, use of
unusual rhythm and prepossession with sound effect.
The musical quality of Milton’s poetry had
tremendous significance for the^ictorian critics too,
Lowell and Saintsburry openly avowed that the meaning
of Paradise Lost appeared to be entirely irrelevant and
unessential once its enchanting music poves on the heart
through the ears.
Among the Romantics, the single man who might
claim to have understood Milton's spirit and taste was
Wiliam Wordsworth. With his own temperate love of liberty
and intense moral earnestness, he was properly equipped
to appreciate the essential quality of the Seventeenth
Century poet. His sonnet London in which he pleaded
"Milton thou should*st be living at this hour" (1802)
amply illustrates his attitude towards the epic poet and
also reflects the influence of the admired on the
admirer in practice. Wordsworth never tried consciously
to ape Milton's stylistic peculiarities, but echoes of
66 : -
:
Miltonic phrases
own accord,
spirit
e ntered into his u t t e r a n c e
as he was often
o f the
inspired by
expression and
former,
critical
"Satanic
Cult".
of Milton's poetry
thoughtand preference
another novel
Milton's
found
contribution
heritage was
of
for
the i n t r o d u c t i o n
Themselves being "spiritual
they interpreted
way as
they lost
of
theological
the
it a b s o l u t e l y
the c a p a c i t y
and moral
to f e e l
could
avowed statements
in
e x p r e s s i o n s of his real
in M i l t o n ' s
of
rebe l s " , t h e y
congeniel.
their
own
the v ery v a l i d i t y
they
disciplined
take
t he e p i c
experience.
to
t he
as h o n e s t
Rather, t h e y d i s c o v e r e d
epic a b r e a c h between his p r o m i s e a n d p e r ­
forma n c e which,
lity.
in
system which
Milton's poetic mind. Ne i t h e r
of the poe t
the
the R o m a n t i c s
M i l t o n ' s c h a r a c t e r i s a t i o n of S a t a n v e r y
Moreover,
Lost
the v e r y
epic poet.
Along with dichotomization
into
of their
they
thought,
Milton decl a r e d at
that in his
epic,
of Cod
to m a n .
But
only a
justification of
reflected a split p e r s o n a ­
t he v e r y
he
out-set
was going
the R o m a n t i c s
justify
discovered
th e a c t i o n s
glorification,and ironically,for
to
of Paradise
all
in
the ways
the p o e m
of Satan and his
these
elements
:
67 : -
they appreciated the portrayer of th is character a ll
0£ the Romantic S a tan ists, Blake was the leader.
Inverting the avowed ethical code of Paradise Lost he
f i r s t in 1793 declared in Marriage of Heaven and Hell
that Milton was of D evil's party in his subconscious
mind, and i t was obvious from the very mode of h is
w riting. He wrote in fe tte r s when he wrote of angels
and God, and at lib e rty when he wrote of devils and
H ell. Blake believed that the passion and rebellion
typified in Satan was the v ita l motive of Milton's
poetic inspiration in the epic. Wit
idolatry was indeed lik e a haunting
epic poet even in h is waking dreams and thereby received
in sp iratio n s. He drew ninety paintings and engravings on
Miltonic su b jects. Again,he created Urison in his Vala
in imitation of Satan and took Milton as the titu la r
hero of his another work.
Blake's important descendants were S ir Walter
Releigh,Mafcnew Arnold,Shelley and Byron. R eleigh's book
62. W.BJmke, Marriage of Heaven and H ell(1793). S ir
Walter Raleigh, Mil ton(i9 6 0 );Matthew Arnold. Milton
(1888) P.B.Shelley, A Defence of Poetrv( 1821).
; 68 s -
on
Milton
school
contains
• Matthew
character
dramatic
bk
II)
of
a
the
of
in
Shelley,
moral
being
tyrant.
To
in
Archangel
only
for
the
Byron's
soft
c omer
wfKS^reflected
whom
he
and
in
represented
intellectual
It
and
of
not
and
his
as
of
himself
a
the
per­
was
a
Shelley
created
a
the
was
the
to
that
destruction
for
the
of
very
kindred
superior
difference
as
during
significance.The
was
the
Romantics'
63.
Viz
Milton. London,
Matthew
rest
and
the
his
of
man.
character
of
Lucifer
human
action
thirst
of
Satan
in
Cain
for
emancipation.
lost
P*
I
Satan's
champion
reputation
65*
(bk
poet,
esteem
Milton's
64.
the
earmarks
for
a
that
the
who
him,
the
the
proved
Romantic
of
Lost
all
characterisation
seems,however,
its
observed
power
the
admirer
Paradise
for
of
bore
Prometheus
because
good
God
romantic
character
he
archangel
while
character^,
opinions
great
in
creative
congenial
was
a
and
Satan
the
the
his
was
Archangel
portrayal
To
standard
Arnold
out-ranked
poem^.
fectly
of
the
Arnold,
B.Shelly,
A
cold
a
the
Nineteenth
religious
clearest
reception
Edward
Milton.
Defence
teacher
evidence
of
kra^Ck
Poetry
or
of
Milton's
Co
(1818).
of
Century,
(1821)
divine
this
so
poet
fact
long
C o p y w r i g h t ( 1900)
-
:
69
:
-
unknown but most controversial theological treatise De
Doctrina Ch^ristiana. Discovered in 1823 this treatise
only confirmed the Eighteenth Century suspicion that
Milton really had heterodox religious beliefs. Upon its
discovery the king asked Bishop Summer to publish it in
translation and it appeared in Ihglish in 1825. De
Doctrina
was then greeted by a few critical reviews.For
example, it was made the subject of a popular study by
William Ellery Channing in 1826 and provoked Macaulay's
most celebrated essay on Milton in 1825. But no other
mentionworthy event can be linked up with the discovery
of De Doctrina
within the romantic age. This rather
indifferent reception was a clear indication that the
weight of religious authority was no longer a significant
support of Milton's reputation among the Romantic critics.
Again, the Nineteenth Century critics, did not show
much interest in Milton's private life or political acti­
vities. They largely ignored the^details of both, though,
towards the middle of the century, a new trend grew to
eulogise the poet for his private nobility and exemplary
life, in particular. Milton's public life was deplored in
general through out the century and many peculiar
:
70 : -
suggestions began to appeared against him* Critics
like Macaulay, De-Quincy, Landor, Tennyson*and Ruskin
labelled Milton as a "puritan" - an adjective which
proved detrimental to the reputation of a poet in the
middle of the c-entury. However, Whenever Milton’s
political activities were discussed, he was praised for
V
his unswearling devotion to the political cause he had
espoused, though the critics of the day, broadly spea­
king, were not much concerned with Milton's political
ideology itself.
The Nineteenth Century critics carried Milton
scholarship far beyond the achievements of the previous
age* The most standard collections of the day were the
collected edition of the poetry and prose by John Milford
(1851) and the Bonn edition of the prose which included
the translations of jjjilton's Latin pamphlets, and they
remained so until the Columbia edition was published in
1938. An indispensible biographical aid to the study of
Milton was provided by David Masson in his six-volume
Life of Milton-Narrated in Connection with the Political
Eoelesiastical or Literary History of His Time.Masson's
half century labour from 1840 to the 1890 pulled together
every piece of information known about Milton the man,
:
71
: -
his works and his timef and on the whole, represented
*
Milton as
a
solemn, austere, proud, intolerant and
*
^ «
scornful nan* There were n*n£y supporters of Masson,
followers* Some of them however held that Milton was
at first the child of both the Renaissance and puritan i s m and a moderately normal young man and it was only
after 1640,
that he became a puritan in a detrimental
sense. Others maintained that the poet was a disagree­
able person without the benefit of a party. He commanded
respect and reverence but the stern, unpleasant old man
could not get admiration from any q u a r t e r ^ .
The Nineteenth Century critics particularly
Raleigh, Stephen and Gosse were much concerned with
M i l t o n ’s influence on the practicing poets, and on the
whole,
they held it to be positively harmful. Raleigh
openly said that Milton’s example had for two hundred
years strangled all poets who had ever attempted to
write blank-verse
'. But still,
these Nineteenth
Century critics never tempered their appreciation of
the poet on account of his influence as have done the
critics of our age.
66. Thorpe,
Milton Criticism,(1951)
67. Raleigh, Milton(1900)
Introduction,
Chapter V-VII.
72
:
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73
of Spenser in particular, and they even declared the
poet a "humanist". As a man also Milton seemed to them
quite an attractive personality along with the broad
CQ
humaneliness of the Renaissance
.
But?1na;jority of m o d e m critics, like Dennis Saurat
and Liljegran,have offered some rather unfavourable
interpretations of Milton's thoughts and made a distorted
figure of Milton's personality. To illustrate, Dennis
Saurat, in Milton : Man and Thinker, attempted to disen­
tangle the permanent human interest in Milton's thought,
from theological rubbish and in his effort,he als©^
discovered in Milton's works a complete ontology,cosmo­
logy! psychology, ethics, religion, and politics with
many original features in them. The critic believed that
Milton had some passionate convictions of his own like
his beliefs that the universe was a unit or man was the
author of his own destiny or human nature and human race
are on their way to good. Saurat observed that Milton's
centval ethics was guided by a faith in the supremacy of
reason over passion while his political gospel was that
of freedom. But the moment the critic came to analyse
68. For /urther elaboration of the point Vide J.H.
Haiylford, Milton and the Return to Humanism( 1919)
in'Studies in Philology XVI (1919) P 126-147.
:
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-
75 : -
/
of
historical
realism
and
extraordinary
measure
of
chiavellian
On
the
other
inferiority
being
ted
an
a
critics
hand,the
their
due
of
to
a
reception
teacher
attempt
into
to
a
critic,Heinrigh
Milton's
character
congenital
the
the
in
weakness
man
who
was
Eighteenth
organise
something
relevance,
of
the
the
making
limit
the
by
thirties
and
broader
of
venera­
Century
an
historical
Milton.
They
thought
a
Tillyard
balance
for
fusion
and
the
labelled
thus
Milton
of
the
Bush
such
extreme
Milton,
as
they
of
century
Milton.
some
Grierson
,a t t e m p t e d
attitudes
towards
discovered
poet
more
72
and
protestant
the
and
brought
and
antitheologian
forties
themselves
of
and
71
,
of
thought
intent
critics
against
70
like
Milton's
m o d e m
charges
critics,
elements
a
to
by
prepo^turous
In
a
and
an
i
contemporary
crossed
poet
egotism
continental
secret
complex
l what
personality
some
the
religious
In
in
Renaissance
the
albino.
Alas
as
in
ruthlessness.
Mitschmanadetected
his
discovered
and
a
in
Milton's
Renaissance
'Christian
humanist'*
70.
E.M.W.Tillyard,
71.
D . B u s h . M i l t o n . Qy-Pnrri H i K ± n r y n f E n g l i a h ^L i t e r a t u r e ,
Oxford,
the C l a r e n d o n p r e s s , (1945;
72.
H.J.C.Grierson,
Milton
(1930).
and
W o r d s w o r t h . (1939)
-
:
76
:
-
To these critics, Milton appeared to be just a normal
human being, though none the less great,along the
line of the poet’s early biographers who portrayed him
as a pleasant, sociable and agreeable man. These critics
did not like to characterise Milton exclusively with
Renaissance attributes or puritan traits. Rather* they
focussed on the basic fact that many of the Chief
Characteristics of Puritan thought were ingredients of
the Renaissance also. Nor did they ever try to make any
lawless criminal or physical freak of the epic poet. In
their interpretation of Milton as a poet, on the other
hand, they emphasised the usefulness of his poetry to
the m o d e m world which is groping desperately for Values
and Standard.
The m o d e m critics who judged Milton as an artist
are mostly Milton detractors. Ezra pound, Middleton
Murray, Herbert Read and Bonamy Dobree, T.S.Elict and
F.R.Leavis are some of them. These critics normally
reflected on Milton through an unfavourable comparison
of him with Donne and Dryden. They generally accused
Milton of expiating language as a kind of musical
medium outsi^Fhimself and greatly abused the poet for
the absence of any trace of feeling and sensation
77
*
-
behind his words. They maintained that Milton had
distorted the mother tongue by his use and left it
unsuitable in that form for other practicing poets.
These critics also condemned the fmfluence of Milton
on other poets like Thompson, Gray, Cowper,Wordsworth,
Keats and Tennyson. Modern practicing poets, moreover,
in their attempt to reconstruct the Ehglish poetic
diction by bringing it closer to the language of
Shakespeare, Middleton and Tourneur, faced Milton as a
stumbling block and in an enraged tone, they censured
him mercilessly. Their strictures are indeed so pointed
that every Milton-admirer of the day thinks twice before
using such terms as "Organ music", "Planetary circlings"
or the "Grand style" any more with regard to Milton's
writings. They have also turned almost all modern
critics of the poet into a group of "involved persons"
who always suspect a split between Milton's words and
7*
experience
which T.S.Eliot diagnosed as dissociation
of sensibility.
But,what is most interesting and significant is
73. For a general account of Twentieth Century critical
reaction to JMilton,both as an/artist and as thinker
Vide, P.toiBrary "Milton* the pfedern rihase; a study
of Twentieth Centurycriticism.(1967)Introduction
: 78 s -
that even these m o d e m Milton detractors are unable
to deny the irresistible charm of Milton. Miltonic
greatness indeed is a puzzle to them which they can
neither explain nor justify. Recently, however, with
a sign of hope, a new group of critics has appeared
in the field of Milton criticism
with an intention
to repel the groundless charges of the foregoing anti
*7A
Miltonists'^- and the former Milton detractors also are
showing a tendency to mitigate their earlier condemnations7*.
Now, to give a side glance at m o d e m Milton scholar­
ship, it has reached a very mature stage to-day. The
■■tu.
official corpus of Milton's writings of Twentieth Centuryis the Columbia Edition which was completed in 1938. it
provides a number of hitherto uncollected works of the
poet. Some of them are published from manuscript for
the first time. All the Latin pieces, even that of the
den
Common* pi ace Book, the corresponds, and the Marginilia
are translated and there is an excellent subject index
also. Though the edition lacks editorial equipment in
74. Viz Tillyard, Grierson, Bush, Lewis.
75. A comparative study of T.S.Eliot's lectures on
Milton in 193% and in 1947 will make the point
obvious.
:
79
: -
the form of annotations and introductions, it is expected
to remain a standard collection for what it does supply*
Editions of Milton's works by Verity also are very sig­
nificant. They represent a complete and learned annota­
ting of Milton’s poetry. On the other hand, the Yale
press published a series of individual editions of Milton’s
prose which was later continued
the task, unfortunately, was not
^
Modern Milton scholarship provides us even dictionaries
of Milton's language, his geographical, historical and
Biblical allusions, and also with concordance of Milton's
Latin poems.
In the Modern age,there are also numerous biogra­
phical aids to Milton study. Stevens contributed much in
his reference guide (1930), which includes all materials
published since 1800 and Fletcher's supplement carries
the subject down to 1930. Of late, many works have been
done on the problems connected with the early collections
of Milton's works, Ampiig the suppliers of smaller general
biographies, Mark nattison, Belloc and Rose Macaulay, are
important. They have focussed on the life of Milton from
different points of view with varying emphasis. For
example Fattison interpreted the life of the poet along
: 80
the line of and on the basis of the materials furnished
76
by Masson*s book' . Belloc himself being a staunch
Catholic was antipathetic to Miltpn's religious,political
and social ideology. But none the less he appreciated
Milton as a poet
77
. Rose Macaulay's book is based on a
sound scholarship in the Seventeenth Century literature
and history
78
• Recently, documentary reaearch about the
life of Milton has been very active and the accumulations
of new data warrant many new undertakings.
Now, to summarise the above Purvey of Milton
criticism from it inception till date, we may observe
that Milton died, so to speak, an unrecognised genius,as
the Seventeenth Century Milton readers were concerned
only with his political and religious pamphlets, though
to-ward the turn of the century, Milton's poetical works,
drew the attention of the literary critics, and Dryden
laid the foundation of his critical heritage. But
'Miltonic tradition”, properly speaking, was established
by the early Eithteenth Century critics of the poet. The
Eighteenth Century critics studied all the major topics
related with Milton's literature, philosophy and biography,
and provided the poet a well defind critical tradition.
They accorded him maximum praise as a poet,particularly
76. M. Pattison. Milton. (1879U
77. H.Belloc, Milton (1970)
78. R. Macauly Milton (1934)
-
for
the
sublimity
81
:
of
his
:
-
thought, though
they
felt
a
bit
*iu
uneasy
about
his
artistic
Century,
critical
romantic
critics
thoughtand
mainly
The
on
Milton
hand, s e e m
his
in
than
that
to
the
be
on
age
quite
of
many
The
like
Eighteenth
ages
pleasant
heritage
from
and
to
balanced.
two
to
The
surprises
its
feel
its
foundation
indispensible
criticism
of
of
also
our
pleased
Minion's
thought
with
inje-fprete
Eighteenth
Century
rely
more
Century
own
both
lived
in
interpretation
of
having
century
between
counterparts
the
often
in
survey
of
criticism
day.
In
not
tradition
better
our
attitudes
present
Milton's
us
so
critical
date.
significance
the
they
on
indeed
till
as
than
Milton
our
and
items
rationality
their
other
predecessors
Romantics,
on
the
the
Century
critics,
twentieth
Miltonic
for
them.
both
Century
tremendous
phase
which
highly
attention
on
inception
Thus, E i g h t e e n t h
us
their
similarities
towards
Milton's
concentrated
discipline,
their
with
The
Century,
they
their
focus.
Twentieth
the N i n e t e e n t h
appears
the
and
of
ojf r e a s o n
Milton
the
concerned
line
of
They
JXiring'Nineteenth
its
concerned
artistry
of
alike
changed
little
life.
poet's
temperamentally
emotion.
were
critics
language
more
attention
private
the
craftmanship.
of
Milton
only
but
as
of
th§
proves
understanding
study
makes
Milton
itself
of
Milton
and
fctaxfc
Milton criticism we are bound to seek guidance from
such men as Addison and Johnson.