Despite writing about himself extensively and repeatedly, John Milton, the archetypal Puritan author, resolutely avoids the obligatory Augustinian narrative of sinfulness, conviction of sin, reception of the Word, regeneration of the spirit, and sanctification. The doctrine of fall, grace, and regeneration, so well illustrated in Paradise Lost, has no discernible effect on Milton's overt self-representations. Exploring this anomaly in his new book, Stephen M. Fallon contends that Milton, despite his deep engagement with theology, is not a religious writer.
Why, Fallon asks, does Milton write about himself so compulsively? Why does he substitute, for the otherwise universal theological script, a story of precocious and continued virtue, even, it seems, a narrative of sinlessness? What pressures does this decision to reject the standard narrative exert on his work?
In Milton's Peculiar Grace, Fallon argues that Milton writes about himself to gain immortality, secure authority for his arguments, and exert control over his readers' interpretations. He traces the return of the repressed narrative of fallenness in the author's unacknowledged and displaced self-representations, which in turn account for much of the power of the late poems. Fallon's book, based on close readings of Milton's "self-constructions" in prose and poetry throughout his career, provides a new view of Milton's life and his importance for contemporary literary theory-in particular for continued questions about authorial intention.
To listen to a radio interview with Stephen Fallon discussing Milton's enduring significance, on the Australian Broadcasting Company's "Late Night Live," click here.
Stephen M. Fallon is Cavanaugh Professor in the Humanities at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Milton among the Philosophers: Poetry and Materialism in Seventeenth-Century England, also available from Cornell.
What People are Saying About This
Michael Lieb
Emphasizing the significance of how Milton's sense of self evolved from the outset of his career to the final period of his writings, Milton's Peculiar Grace advances the ongoing discussion of self-representation and self-fashioning in the early modern period. Stephen M. Fallon demonstrates that Milton inscribed his selfhood throughout his works. The conclusions Fallon draws are at once timely and compelling; this book is a genuine pleasure to read.
Dayton Haskin
Since publishing the award-winning Milton among the Philosophers, Stephen Fallon has been writing a remarkable series of essays that trace the myriad ways in which the most self-conscious of authors projects himself into his work. Now, in Milton's Peculiar Grace, investigating this writer's contradictions with unusual adeptness, Fallon has distilled for us his mature reflections on how we might evaluate Milton's representations of himself in the whole range of his productions. Fallon's clear, patient, and often exhilarating exposition richly demonstrates just how the body of writing we call 'Milton' poses a consummate—and a welcome—challenge to the inhibitions of those who would dismiss studies trained on a single author.
Dennis Danielson
Milton's Peculiar Grace will be the crown jewel in Stephen Fallon's treasury of scholarly accomplishments. The book can be described without redundancy as a literary biography of the autobiographical Milton. Fallon's claim that Milton is a theological but not a religious writer—odd as it may sound—offers a unique take on Milton as person and author, as well as on his significance within seventeenth-century literary and intellectual history. Milton's Peculiar Grace is an engaging and important piece of work: informative, judicious, magisterial.
