Milton and the Natural World: Science and Poetry in Paradise Lost

Hardback

Main Details

Title Milton and the Natural World: Science and Poetry in Paradise Lost
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Karen L. Edwards
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:280
Dimensions(mm): Height 237,Width 160
Category/GenreLiterary studies - c 1500 to c 1800
Literary studies - poetry and poets
ISBN/Barcode 9780521643597
ClassificationsDewey:821.4
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations 18 Halftones, unspecified

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 9 March 2000
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Karen Edwards offers a fresh view of Paradise Lost, in which Milton is shown to represent Eden's plants and animals in the light of the century's new, scientific natural history. Debunking the fabulous lore of the old science, the poem embraces new imaginative and symbolic possibilities for depicting the natural world, suggested by the speculations of Milton's scientific contemporaries including Robert Boyle, Thomas Browne and John Evelyn. The natural world in Paradise Lost, with its flowers and trees, insects and beasts, emerges as a text alive with meaning.

Reviews

'Full of quirky detail and careful research ... one does not have to agree with every reading to appreciate the importance of intelligent questioning to the future of Milton studies, and it is high praise to say that Edwards succeeds in giving us a fresh appreciation of Paradise Lost.' Margaret Kean, Times Literary Supplement