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Institutions, Theology, and the Language of Freedom in the Poetry and Prose of John Milton

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Institutions, Theology, and the Language of Freedom in the Poetry and Prose of John Milton Institutions, Theology, and the Language of Freedom in the Poetry and Prose of John Milton by Benjamin Woodford A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2018 © Benjamin Woodford 2018 Examining Committee Membership The following served on the Examining Committee for this thesis. The decision of the Examining Committee is by majority vote. External Examiner NAME: Tobias Gregory Title: Associate Professor, Catholic University of America Supervisor(s) NAME: Kenneth Graham Title: Professor, University of Waterloo Internal Member NAME: Sarah Tolmie Title: Associate Professor, University of Waterloo Internal-external Member NAME: Troy Osborne Title: Associate Professor, History Department, Conrad Grebel University College Other Member(s) NAME: Rebecca Tierney-Hynes Title: Lecturer, University of Edinburgh ii Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii Abstract Freedom is an essential topic in the writings of John Milton, but what he means by this term varies over the course of his career. Milton’s prose works centre on religious and political liberty, which explore how the church and state interact with Christians and citizens. His early prose tracts express skepticism about the contributions of institutions, particularly coercive institutions, to freedom. As the English Revolution progresses, Milton begins to separate religious and political liberty based on the role of institutions in each type of freedom. In Milton’s commonwealth and late prose, religious freedom protects the individual conscience from being coerced by any civil or ecclesiastical institution; institutions are limited to persuasion and admonition in religious matters. Political freedom, in contrast, involves parliament leading, schools educating, and the army compelling the English people so that they accept a commonwealth, as political freedom is only possible in a commonwealth. Although these institutions often act against the will of the electorate, Milton’s language presents them as expressions of popular sovereignty. In his epic poem Paradise Lost, Milton shifts the setting from England to the mythical realm of heaven and presents an additional dimension of liberty. Paradise Lost incorporates much of the language regarding freedom and institutions from Milton’s prose, but it expresses a theological freedom that focuses on a Christian’s relationship with God. Theological freedom involves both free choice and dependence on God. Milton uses the character God to articulate the principles of theological freedom, and the characters Satan and Adam and Eve to illustrate failures in theological freedom. These failures shake the reader’s confidence, but the poem ends with the restoration of freedom, encouraging the reader to accept freedom through dependence on God. iv Acknowledgements In producing this dissertation, I have incurred many debts. My greatest debt is to my supervisor, Professor Kenneth Graham. Professor Graham read multiple drafts of every chapter in my dissertation, providing invaluable feedback each time. The many conversations that I have had with Professor Graham in his office have helped me organize my ideas and recognize the potential of my arguments. Each time I left a meeting with Professor Graham, I was filled with new thoughts and perspectives on my research. Throughout this process, Professor Graham has always been willing to spend time discussing any aspect of my work, and for that I am deeply grateful. My other two committee members, Professor Rebecca Tierney-Hynes and Professor Sarah Tolmie, have also played an essential role in helping me revise each of my chapters. Their feedback enabled me to improve several key areas of analysis as well as the clarity of my argument. I am also appreciative of the participants at the Early Modern Interdisciplinary Graduate Forum at the University of Toronto, where I presented part of my research. Their probing questions helped me consider additional aspects of my research. Financially, I am grateful to the University of Waterloo for its funding throughout the four years of my PhD. Finally, I am thankful for all the support my family has given me during the process of writing this dissertation. In particular, I am permanently indebted to my wife, Raquel, who agreed to take the journey of a second PhD with me, and has stood by my side through all the ups, downs, and moments of uncertainty. Without her support and encouragement, this dissertation would not have been possible. v Table of Contents Examining Committee Membership ii Author’s Declaration iii Abstract iv Acknowledgements v List of Abbreviations vii Introduction 1 1. Early Prose: Institutional Obstacles to Liberty 22 2. Commonwealth Prose: Separating Religious and Political Liberty 76 3. Late Prose: Freedom from Institutions and Institutional Freedom 127 4. Beyond Institutions: Theological Freedom in Paradise Lost 170 5. Failures in Theological Freedom: Satan’s Rebellion and Adam and Eve’s Fall 204 Conclusion 240 References 246 vi List of Abbreviations CPW Complete Prose Works of John Milton, 8 vols. Ed. D. M. Wolfe, et al. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1953-82. CW The Complete Works of John Milton, 4 vols. to date. Ed. Thomas Corns and Gordon Campbell. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012-2014. WJM The Works of John Milton, 18 vols. Ed. F. A. Patterson et al. New York: Columbia University Press, 1931-8. vii Introduction The notion of freedom lies at the heart of most modern western democracies, often enshrined in a formal constitutional document like the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the American Bill of Rights.1 Although freedom’s value is a given, its meaning is a source of contention. Does freedom mean the right to decide for one’s self without interference? Are certain social conditions necessary for freedom? Does freedom lie in the individual or the larger community? All major politicians and political parties insist that they support freedom, but they use different language in answering these crucial questions. Since nearly everyone agrees that freedom is necessary to live a fulfilling life, the language one uses to define freedom also shapes the definition of human happiness. Additionally, freedom, when accompanied by the appropriate rhetoric, is a powerful justification for almost any action. The language of freedom reflects how we understand ourselves and what we can do in the name of larger objectives. Given these implications, it is unsurprising that political rivals battle to control the rhetoric of freedom. The ability to define freedom and to persuade others of the validity of that definition are alike important for securing political power. Debates regarding freedom dominate the news, but they are nothing new. In the mid- seventeenth century, the polemicist and poet John Milton was just as eager to have a monopoly on the language of freedom as any modern politician. Milton’s writings are not merely a product of a particular moment in history; they are part of a continuing effort to reshape the language of freedom and present this language in a manner that garners broad support. Milton appeals to freedom to defend and attack various regimes and policies, yet the type of freedom that he endorses is not consistent. This dissertation interrogates Milton’s struggle in his prose and poetry to reconcile a philosophical commitment to liberty with the practical means of 1 establishing freedom. Although he values the condition of liberty, Milton’s work questions the possibility of its achievement, particularly if the population resists. As Milton argues for liberty, he uses language that attempts to preserve the theory of liberty within realities that seem far from his own ideal of freedom. Sometimes employed as an official propagandist and sometimes imagining the ideal commonwealth, Milton endorses regimes and values that seem at odds with liberty, yet his writing finds ways to accommodate any government or ruler to freedom. Due to the rapidly evolving political situation, Milton’s position on liberty shifts over the years, but he never acknowledges these shifts. Instead, the rhetoric of his tracts seeks to conceal changes in his thought so that he can claim consistency. In grappling with the issue of freedom, Milton’s works separate political from religious liberty based on the role of political and ecclesiastical institutions in each type of freedom, allowing for much greater institutional direction in political liberty. Religious liberty is only possible when institutions are limited to using persuasion and admonition, while political liberty requires institutions that can coerce the population. When discussing institutions exercising control in religion, Milton uses words such as compulsion, servility, and fear to stress a negative outcome. In politics, conversely, he portrays dominant institutions as leading, educating, protecting, and saving the population; all of these actions illustrate the positive effect of institutional control. The actual interactions between institutions and people are similar in both instances, but Milton uses different language to depict these interactions, which reflects his interpretation of religious and political freedom. Powerful,
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