How Milton Works

Stanley Fish

    Introduction

    I. The Miltonic Paradigm

    How Milton Works
    Milton's Aesthetic of Testimony
    Problem Solving in Comus
    Unblemished Form

    II. The Paradigm under the Pressure of Time, Interpretation, and Death

    Driving from the Letter: Truth and Indeterminacy in Milton's Areopagitica
    Wanting a Supplement: The Question of Interpretation in Milton's Early Prose
    Lycidas: A Poem Finally Anonymous
    With Mortal Voice: Milton Defends against the Muse

    III. The Counter-Paradigm

    The Temptation to Action
    The Temptation of Speech
    The Temptation of Plot
    The Temptation of Understanding
    The Temptation of Intelligibility

    IV. The Paradigm Reaffirmed (Almost) without Apology

    Gently Raised
    "On Other Surety None"
    Epilogue: The Temptation of History and Politics

    Notes
    Credits
    Index

  • Cover: How Milton Works
  • A photo of the author

Stanley Fish is Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His many books include There's No Such Thing as Free Speech, and It's a Good Thing Too.