AJ26071 John Milton's 'Paradise Lost' and the British Civil War

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2018
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 3 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Stephen Paul Hardy, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jana Chamonikolasová, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 15:50–17:25 L42
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 12 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course will consider Milton's 'Paradise Lost' in the context of a concurrent study of the British Civil Wars of the relevant period preceding its publication. Students will be expected to analyse the text and to relate it not only to Milton's poetic and theological or philosophical concerns but also to the politics of the relevant period. Students who complete the course for full credit will also have completed an eight to ten page essay consideringg relevant aspects of the poem and/or its pertinent contextual surround, that is to say the the civil wars and subsequent political developments of the period and the issues contributing to their occurrence, or, should they wish to write a cultural studies oriented essay,aspects of the cultural issues pertinent to the politics of the civil wars. In either case a student completing the the course will have gained knowledge and understanding of the period in question and elements of the poetics of pertaining to it, to a level deemed adequate at this level of study.
Learning outcomes
The participant completing the course will have been exposed to the basic events and issues in the seventeenth century civil war period and to the presentation and dramatisation of many of these issues in Milton's epic poem, along with twentieth century interpretations of the same. The participant will thus have gained a better insight both into one of the crucially formative eras in British political history and to ways in which political and related issues, in this context, religious and gender issues can be negotiated and interpreted in a classic literary text.
Syllabus
  • Week 1 Introductory: L'Allegro; Il Penseroso; Lycidas, Week 2 Milton:Paradise Lost: Book One; Hunt: Ch.1-3 Week 3 " " " " Two; Hunt: Ch 4-6. Week 4 " " " " Three;Hunt: Ch 7-9 Week 5 " " " " Four; Hunt: Ch.9-11 Week 6 " " " " Five;Brailsford Ch.6&7. Week 7: READING WEEK: NO CLASS Week 8 Paradise Lost: Six; Lucy Hutchinson: Order and Disorder (internet) G.Robertson: Introduction etc. Week 9 Paradise Lost: Seven and Eight;C.Hill: Part VI Week 10 " " " " Nine and Ten;D.Norbrook: extracts Week 11 PUBLIC HOLIDAY: NO CLASS Week 12 PUBLIC HOLIDAY: NO CLASS Week 13 " " " " Eleven&Twelve; W.Empson: Satan,Eve
Literature
    required literature
  • MILTON, John. Paradise Lost. Edited by Philip Brockbank - C. A. Patrides. London: Macmillan Education, 1986, 230 s. ISBN 0333007883. info
    recommended literature
  • Geoffrey Robertson presents The Levellers (The Putney Debates) London: Verso 2007
  • Christopher Hill, Milton and the English Revolution London , Faber and Faber, 1979
  • William Empson, Milton's God, Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood Press (1961/1978)
  • Lucan Civil War (transl Susan H Braund) Oxford: Oxford University Press 2008
  • MILTON, John. The works of John Milton :with an introduction and bibliography. Ware: Wordsworth Editions, 1994, ix, 486 s. ISBN 1-85326-410-5. info
    not specified
  • David Norbrook Writing the English Republic Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2000
  • tristram Hunt The English Civil War at First Hand London: Penguin 2011
Teaching methods
The course will be taught through a close reading of the poem and consideration of other relevant material by means of small group and class discussion.
Assessment methods
The course will be assessed by a combination of attendance/class contribution (40%) and an essay of 8-12 pages (60%).
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2017.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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