What’s the text? Paradise Lost retells the story of mankind’s creation and fall first told in Genesis. For its author, the 17th century poet John Milton, this is a story of origins – of the universe, of human beings, of gender and the family, of political life, and of evil. It is also a story of revolutions, beginning with the story of Satan’s rebellion against God. Both devout and radical, Milton was deeply involved himself in wholesale changes to the English state and the English church; he used the poem to grapple with key existential, theological and political issues, and did so in unrhymed poetry of staggering power and beauty.
What’s the project? We’ll start with an intensive introduction to the poem, how to read it, and key contexts over IAP; for the rest of the class, you’ll be collaborating asynchronously to produce a reader’s guide out of your own questions, images, ideas and resources. Final project: a video essay teaching the key thing you learned.
This is a T-grade subject that continues in SP15.
