The Early Reception ofParadise Lost

Abstract

This essay discusses the early reception of John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667), addressing in particular the materials accompanying the first publication of the epic, the first mentions of the epic in contemporary manuscripts, the literary reaction of Dryden's The State of Innocence, and the eighteenth-century commentary tradition, especially Richard Bentley's notorious edition of 1732. The article also explores some lesser-known reactions to Milton, including those of various early Fellows of the Royal Society. Such a study demonstrates that Milton's epic has always been seen as a difficult and potentially dangerous project, and that critical models based on the influential but overgeneralized work of Stanley Fish founder in the face of genuine contemporary reactions to Milton. Accordingly, the modern critical trend of reconstructing individual reactions to Milton, often from manuscript sources such as correspondence or commonplace books, is to be preferred as the more secure method of analysing the reception history of Milton. Milton is, and always was, a controversial figure.