Theatrical Wonder, Amazement, And the Construction of Spiritual Agency in Paradise Lost. Book Reviews

Theatrical Wonder, Amazement, And the Construction of Spiritual Agency in Paradise Lost. by Comparative Drama Book Summary

Criticism that addresses the presence of theatrical language and imagery in Miltons later poems is usually one of two types. The first type considers the ways in which the later poems incorporate dramatic conventions and criticize or redefine particular theatrical genres. Issues of genre are especially relevant to Samson Agonistes, a tragedy "never intended" for the stage. (1) Essays by D. M. Rosenberg, John D. Cox, and Peggy Samuels all explain ways in which Samson engages with the dramatic conventions of the Restoration and especially the work of Dryden. An alternative path is followed by Elizabeth Sauer, who looks at Samson specifically as a closet drama and examines the ways in which Milton's play criticizes theatricality in general. (2) Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained require alternative approaches, since they are not dramatic in form. Nevertheless, critics have argued persuasively that each engages with theatrical genres. In the case of Paradise Regained, Steven Zwicker has emphasized its pairing with Samson, showing how Milton uses dramatic technique in Paradise Regained to correct Dryden's conception of heroic drama. Regarding Paradise Lost, Barbara Lewalski's classic study of literary forms in the epic takes tragedy as one of those literary forms and analyzes the dramatic structure of Books 9 and 10, which follow first Aristotelian and then Christian paradigms of tragedy. Her reading counters that of Richard S. Ide, who sees Books 9 and 10 as shaped by the conventions of Elizabethan tragicomedy. Finally, John Demaray's Milton's Theatrical Epic shows how much of the imagery in Paradise Lost comes from the English masquing stage. (3)

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Theatrical Wonder, Amazement, And the Construction of Spiritual Agency in Paradise Lost. (Comparative Drama) Book Reviews 2024

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