Milton and the Politics of Paradise (U02069)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : LLC-3-U02069

The course will begin with Milton's early pastoral poetry and trace the shifts in the politics and imagery of pastoral after the failure of the English revolution. The course will have a formal focus on pastoral and a conceptual focus on the question of pleasure. It will assess the force of Milton's legacy by following through this key question: if nature is itself divine, why has paradise not arrived? The course will conclude with a reflection on the emergence of the novel as a new vehicle for the expression of the relation between pleasure and paradise.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Passes in English or Scottish Literature 1 and English or Scottish or American Literature 2, with a mark of 50 or above at the first attempt in the second year course.

? Special Arrangements for Entry : Numbers are limited and students taking degrees not involving English or Scottish literature need the written approval of the head of English Literature

? Costs : Essential course texts

Subject Areas

Home subject area

English Literature, (School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, Schedule G)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 1 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Students successfully completing the course will be equipped to recognise the English revolution as presenting both a political and an aesthetic problem. Exploring the historical concerns of Puritanism, they will address the question of how pleasure might be re-defined both politically and poetically: pleasure must be seen as more than mere sensuality. The course will develop the students' knowledge of the literature of the period in question, with specific regard to a number of major genres and intellectual issues. The course will enhance students' ability to read historically, critically and culturally, and to engage with an area of specialist research not otherwise available to students at Edinburgh.