The development of Milton's thought: law, government, and religion

Abstract

Although these two books both address Milton's thought, their divergent purposes and audiences substantially distinguish the utility of their respective studies of Milton. The Development of Milton's Thought unquestionably works as a scholarly text, aimed at scholars and students of Milton and intended as an attack on idolatrous readings of Milton. John Milton: Life, Work, and Thought approaches Milton biographically, tells a life story of potential interest to a wide audience and addresses Milton's developing thinking as part of that story. Shawcross takes a distinctly textual approach to Milton's thinking, though he does not ignore history; Campbell and Corns address poetry and prose as part of their larger historical project to examine Milton's life. I found the biography offered a clearer glimpse of Milton's changing thought across his lifetime, while Shawcross' volume is most effective as a corrective to scholarly bad habits in reading Milton's works and life. The Development of Milton's Thought opens by establishing the conjectural Milton too often taken as a given by scholars, a Milton of fixed thought and resolved purpose throughout his life and career. Shawcross spends the rest of the book in a careful and nuanced critique of this fictional Milton, sometimes taking pains, as Milton did in Eikonoklastes and other texts, to smash the idolatrous image of Milton, man of vision and proto-Republican. As Shawcross notes, Milton's poetry and prose offer evidence to changes in his understanding. Shawcross also finds it vitally important that critics of Milton retain their critical faculties in the face of his persuasive and powerful writing, arguing convincingly that scholars must neither work as apologists