Category Archives: Milton’s Prose

Privacy, Liberty, and the Search for Truth in Milton (Introduction)

Posted on June 9, 2014 by d_a_harper

                                                         he unobserved Home to his mother’s house private returned                                                          –Paradise Regain’d IV.638-9   A Note About This Blog: When I set out a bit over a year ago to write blog posts about Milton once a month or … Continue reading →

Posted in Areopagitica, Milton, Milton's Prose, Milton's Shorter Poems, Of Education, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regain'd, Privacy, Samson Agonistes | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Panopticon Eden

Posted on June 11, 2013 by d_a_harper

In Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, there are these amazing round sandbar/reefs. They look like huge lily pads when you spot them from H3, high above. When I lived in paradise on the bay, I used to kayak out to these reefs in the middle, … Continue reading →

Posted in Areopagitica, Milton, Milton's Prose, Paradise Lost | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

“Thir Song Was Partial”: Milton and Partisan Political Discourse

Posted on May 21, 2013 by d_a_harper

Thir Song was partial, but the harmony (What could it less when Spirits immortal sing?) Suspended Hell, and took with ravishment The thronging audience. With the end of semester rush, my musings have been more occasional than I intended. Granted, … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Areopagitica, De Doctrina, Milton, Milton's Prose, Paradise Lost, Salmasius, Samuel Johnson | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Would John Milton Defend Your Freedom to Print a Gun?

Posted on May 7, 2013 by d_a_harper

By now you’ve probably heard about Cody Wilson’s fully functional, 3-D-printer-produced handgun. Last weekend, Wilson successfully test fired the “Liberator,” and posted its design on his non-profit company’s website. A 25-year-old student at the University of Texas Austin, Wilson is fond of … Continue reading →

Posted in Areopagitica, gun control, Milton, Milton's Prose, The Ready and Easy Way | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Milton, Star Wars, and the Ever-Evolving Blog

Posted on April 29, 2013 by d_a_harper

This week, along with many of my readers, I’m in the end-of-semester grading crush. As I grade each essay in this unending stack, I try to keep in mind this passage from Areopagitica: Books [or student essays] are as meats and … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Areopagitica, Milton, Milton's Prose, Paradise Lost, teaching | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Blackest Grain: Milton, Gunpowder, and the Right to Bear Arms

Posted on April 17, 2013 by d_a_harper

Today, after a Senate vote on gun control, the New York Review of Books revived interest in Gary Wills’ article comparing America’s obsession with guns to the worship of Moloch. Originally posted on December 15, 2012, “Our Moloch” invokes Milton’s Paradise … Continue reading →

Posted in gun control, Milton, Milton's Prose, Milton's Shorter Poems, Paradise Lost, The Ready and Easy Way | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

I’d Rather You Didn’t

Posted on April 14, 2013 by d_a_harper

Colin Burrow begins his review of the Oxford Complete Works editions of De Doctrina Christiana (edited by John Hale) and The Shorter Poems (edited by Barbara Lewalski and Estelle Haan), by stating that the “one key question” remaining after the 2008 … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, De Doctrina, L'estrange, Milton, Milton's Prose, Milton's Shorter Poems, Salmasius, Samuel Johnson | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment