John Milton

by Richard Bradford

There is a crying need for an accessible, comprehensive guide to John Milton for the thousands of students who make their way through his poetry every year on literary survey and seventeenth century literature courses. Where many previous guides have dragged their way through Paradise Lost , Richard Bradford brings Milton to life with an overview of his life, contexts, work and the relationship between these, and of the main critical issues surrounding his work.

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Joshua Horn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book relies heavily on literary criticism. I'm not a fan of literary criticism generally, though in this context it is necessary, as it is a biography of someone mainly known through his writing.

My bigger issue is that it was apparent from the beginning that the author didn't really grasp the distinctions between Calvinists, Arminians, independents, Presbyterians, Catholics, etc. So his analysis of where Milton fit in therefore must fall short.

Milton, despite being a high ranking official under Cromwell, is traditionally seen as inclining towards Arminianism, and even Arianism. His Arianism is based on one document that is somewhat disputed, though I'm not familiar with how well grounded those disputes are or not. I know there's a book that argues that he was a solid Calvinist. Again I don't know how valid that is, but if everyone else's understanding is as flawed as this author, they could very well be right.

Some things are for certain - Milton was not a great example of a Puritan. Before the Civil War he wrote at least one play for a benefactor, which is something that the stricter Puritans would have had nothing to do with. And towards the end of his life he didn't attend church, though his blindness certainly didn't help him get around.

But certainly an interesting fellow - one of the greatest English writers ever, and a devoted supported of the Cromwellian Revolution.

[Bret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Bradford’s The Life of the Author: John Milton is a brief, sane biography. It is good, but almost everything it does well has been done even better elsewhere. It distinguishes itself from other Milton biographies with an account of Milton’s reception history. Alas, it could have had a stronger ending than its rant about the death of the author. By their very natures, literary biographies always already implicitly defy such theories. If Bradford could have mustered the gusto and eloquence that Harold Bloom had (over 30 years ago!) in Ruin the Sacred Truths, he might have been able to pull it off: “Our weak moment dallies with the false surmise of the death of the author, a dallying that is outfaced by the scandal of Milton’s continued authority.”