E 363 Honors/LAH 350 l The Poetry of Milton
Instructor: Rumrich, J. Areas: E, H Unique #: 35139(E)/29752(LAH) Flags: Ethics and Leadership. Semester: Fall, 2019 Restrictions: See Prerequisites. Cross-lists: Computer Instruction: N
Prerequisite: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.
CTI Designation: This course counts towards the Certificate Program in Core Texts and Ideas, a 6-course sequence in the great books, ideas, and controversies that have shaped Western civilization. The program is open to students in all majors and colleges. Visit http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/coretexts/ for more information or email the academic director, Lorraine Pangle: [email protected].
Flag: Ethics and Leadership—Ethics and Leadership courses are designed to equip students with skills necessary for making ethical decisions. Expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments involving ethical issues and the process of applying ethical reasoning.
Description: The course will introduce Milton as a poet, propagandist, theologian, linguist, social critic, historian, logician, government official, and self-proclaimed prophet. Milton wrote that a true poet should live a true poem. With this invitation to ponder the ethical-aesthetic conjunction of Milton's life and art, we will examine the peculiar self-authorship of a Christian artist whose commitment to obedience led to heresy, rebellion, and regicide. A major topic of concern will be the transgressive potential of a devout puritan setting out to justify the ways of God to men in the first place, much less while suffering blindness, crushing political defeat, domestic turmoil, imprisonment, public ridicule, and a close brush with a grisly execution. Another will be the authorized iterations of Milton’s biography over the centuries, iterations that originate in Milton’s own self-representations as well as in the contradictory representation of him by his opponents. Our goal will be to make our way toward an “unauthorized” perspective, attending especially to what Milton does not say about his life: what he avoids talking about, writes of vaguely, or simply fails to register..
Texts: The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton (Modern Library, 2007) [hereafter, MLM], available at the Co-op or Amazon.com. Alternatively, students are free to substitute three paperback Modern Library paperback editions: Paradise Lost (2008), Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and the Complete Shorter Poems (2012), and The Essential Prose of John Milton (2013). We will also be reading excerpts from a various biographies and critical essays, most of which are available online, as detailed below.
Requirements & Grading [subject to adjustment]:
1) Students will present a short paper (3-4 pages) and initiate seminar discussion concerning works on the schedule (at least once). The short paper(s)/seminar presentation(s) will account for 35% of the final grade.
2) Students will memorize and recite 60 lines of verse, at least 30 from Paradise Lost (15% of the final grade). This assignment may be fulfilled in two installments but must be completed by 2 December. Recitations will not be accepted after this date.
3) Students will develop a long formal essay of 15-20 pages. Students are expected to consult with the instructor regarding research for and development of this project at least twice during the semester. (They are also expected and encouraged to consult with their colleagues in the seminar.) The first consultation should occur before midterm, and the second before Thanksgiving break. This essay, which may derive from the short paper and presentation, is due on 13 December (the default day of the final exam) and will account for 50% of the final grade.
Attendance: For a seminar to function well, regular attendance and participation by all participants is a must. After two absences, the student’s course grade will decline by one level (e.g. from A- to B+) for each additional absence.
Schedule [subject to adjustment]:
8/28: Intro to course.
9/2-4: Aubrey’s Minutes and the anonymous biography (the earliest of the “Early Lives,” which Darbishire attributes to John Philips). Both are available at https://archive.org/details/earlylivesofmilt00darb. Psalms 114 & 136 (compare Milton’s the translation of Psalm 114 into Greek), In Quintum Novembris, Elegy 1, On the Death of a Fair Infant, On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity (aka Nativity Ode), The Passion.
9/9-11: At a Vacation Exercise, Elegy 4, Elegy 6, Prolusions 1 & 7, L’Allegro & Il Penseroso. Browse vol. 1, chapters 2 and 3, of David Masson’s Life of John Milton (available at both archive.org and google books). “The Erotic Milton” and Gregory Chaplin, “Milton’s Beautiful Body” (pdfs will be made available).
9/16-18: Familiar Letters: Diodati Greets Milton (both), To Diodati (both), Letter to Alexander Gill, Letter to a Friend. Sonnet 7, Naturam Non Pati Senium, On Time, On Shakespeare, At a Solemn Music, Ad Patrem, Lycidas.
9/23-25: Masque. W. Kerrigan, “The Masque of the Superego” (available on google books with gaps I will fill).
9/30-10/2: Familiar Letters: From Sir Henry Wotten, To Lukas Holste. Ad Salsillum, Manso, Ad Leonoram (all 3), Epitaph for Damon, An Apology for Smectymnuus, Reason of Church Government, “John Milton’s Night at the Opera” (pdf and illustrations will be provided).
10/7-9: Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce. Tetrachordon. “‘One Flesh, One Heart, One Soul’: Renaissance Friendship and Miltonic Marriage.” Modern Philology 99:2 (November 2001): 266-92.
10/14-16: Samson Agonistes. S. Dobranski, “Samson and the Omissa.” C. Warren, “When Self-Preservation Bids.” Both available through UT online. Deadline for first essay consultation, 16 October.
10/21-23: Areopagitica; Tenure of Kings and Magistrates.
10/28-30: Leo Damrosch talk (30 October); Johnson’s Life of Milton. Second Defense
11/4-6: PL 1-3, Christian Doctrine [hereafter, CD], Preface and Book 1, chapters 2-4, 8-9. Sonnets 19 & 22.
11/11-13: PL 4-6, CD 1.5 (to bottom of 1181), 10. Psalm 2.
11/18: PL 7-9 CD 1.7, 11. Sonnet 23. Deadline for second consultation, 18 November.
12/2-4: PL 10-12 CD 1.12-13. Deadline for memorization, 2 December.
12/13 Final exam day, per default schedule. Deadline for submission of long essay.
Policies (worded by UT central administration, with some alteration):
Honor Code: The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.
Academic Integrity: Work submitted by student in this course for academic credit should be their own. For additional information, see http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acadint.php. Students who violate University standards for scholastic integrity may incur penalties that include failure of the course or dismissal.
Documented Disability Statement: UT Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 471-6259 (voice) or 232-2937 (video phone) or go to http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd
Religious Holy Days: By UT Austin policy, students should alert faculty of pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project so as to observe a religious holy day, you will have an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence.
Other: Turn off cell phones and close computers during class. After midterm, students averaging lower than a C who request a Q drop will receive a failing grade.
Web Site: Paradise Lost audiotexts at http://www.laits.utexas.edu/miltonpl/