| Surprised by Sin: The Reader in Paradise Lost, Second Edition with a New Preface Contributor(s): Fish, Stanley (Author) |
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ISBN: 067485747X ISBN-13: 9780674857476 Publisher: Harvard University Press OUR PRICE: $51.48 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: March 1998 Annotation: In 1967 the world of Milton studies was divided into two armed camps: one proclaiming (in the tradition of Blake and Shelley) that Milton was of the devil's party with or without knowing it, the other proclaiming (in the tradition of Addison and C. S. Lewis) that the poet's sympathies are obviously with God and the angels loyal to him. The achievement of Stanley Fish's Surprised by Sin was to reconcile the two camps by subsuming their claims in a single overarching thesis: Paradise Lost is a poem about how its readers came to be the way they are--that is, fallen--and the poem's lesson is proven on a reader's impulse every time he or she finds a devilish action attractive or a godly action dismaying. Fish's argument reshaped the face of Milton studies; thirty years later the issues raised in Surprised by Sin continue to set the agenda and drive debate. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Poetry | European - English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh - Literary Criticism | Poetry |
| Dewey: 821.4 |
| LCCN: 97038854 |
| Physical Information: 1.22" H x 5.53" W x 8.27" (1.12 lbs) 440 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 17th Century - Cultural Region - British Isles - Religious Orientation - Christian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In 1967 the world of Milton studies was divided into two armed camps: one proclaiming (in the tradition of Blake and Shelley) that Milton was of the devil's party with or without knowing it, the other proclaiming (in the tradition of Addison and C. S. Lewis) that the poet's sympathies are obviously with God and the angels loyal to him. The achievement of Stanley Fish's Surprised by Sin was to reconcile the two camps by subsuming their claims in a single overarching thesis: Paradise Lost is a poem about how its readers came to be the way they are--that is, fallen--and the poem's lesson is proven on a reader's impulse every time he or she finds a devilish action attractive or a godly action dismaying. Fish's argument reshaped the face of Milton studies; thirty years later the issues raised in Surprised by Sin continue to set the agenda and drive debate. |
Contributor Bio(s): Fish, Stanley: - Stanley Fish is Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Humanities and Law at Florida International University. His many books include There's No Such Thing as Free Speech: And It's a Good Thing, Too. |