Mary Ann Radzinowicz

The Psalms were of intense interest to Milton, who read them not only as impassioned voices conveying significant moments in life's journey, but also as examples of various genres, each containing rhetorical and poetical conventions appropriate to the expressive intent of the speaker. In this book Mary Ann Radzinowicz describes the pervasive influence of these biblical works on Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. She shows that the dramatic moments when Milton's characters respond to the numinous are shaped by his appreciation of the lyricism of the Psalms and by his studies of their thematic relationships. This book traces the density of poetic voices in the epicsvoices arising from the echoing of psalm kindsand the ironic paralleling of important episodes in them. At the same time, Radzinowicz's book relates to each other Milton's two remarkable poetic oeuvres derived from the Old and New Testaments: one an anonymous, powerful, ancient, worship-centered, lyric work, the other an individually determined, revolutionary, heroic work. Originally published in 1989. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The endurance of a work of art such as Samson Agonistes, this book suggests, derives from its incorporation of the principle of change as the very foundation of its permanence. In a deft and perceptive analysis, Mary Ann Radzinowicz shows how the poem embodies the principle of change, reveals Milton's perpetual concerns, and illuminates the course of his poetic and intellectual development. The author holds that Samson Agonistes represents the culmination of Milton's poetic /uvre. Its subject is growth, and the tragedy imitates a Biblical story of movement from self-destruction to self-transcendence. In each section of her book, the author considers the poem in a different context or area of Milton's thought. Each new aspect suggests a widening circle of implication as the discussion moves from Milton's dialectic to the representation of tragic failure, from change and growth as themes to the discovery of history as tragic design. Originally published in 1978. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The endurance of a work of art such as Samson Agonistes, this book suggests, derives from its incorporation of the principle of change as the very foundation of its permanence. In a deft and perceptive analysis, Mary Ann Radzinowicz shows how the poem embodies the principle of change, reveals Milton's perpetual concerns, and illuminates the course of his poetic and intellectual development. The author holds that Samson Agonistes represents the culmination of Milton's poetic /uvre. Its subject is growth, and the tragedy imitates a Biblical story of movement from self-destruction to self-transcendence. In each section of her book, the author considers the poem in a different context or area of Milton's thought. Each new aspect suggests a widening circle of implication as the discussion moves from Milton's dialectic to the representation of tragic failure, from change and growth as themes to the discovery of history as tragic design. Originally published in 1978. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The Psalms were of intense interest to Milton, who read them not only as impassioned voices conveying significant moments in life's journey, but also as examples of various genres, each containing rhetorical and poetical conventions appropriate to the expressive intent of the speaker. In this book Mary Ann Radzinowicz describes the pervasive influence of these biblical works on Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. She shows that the dramatic moments when Milton's characters respond to the numinous are shaped by his appreciation of the lyricism of the Psalms and by his studies of their thematic relationships. This book traces the density of poetic voices in the epicsvoices arising from the echoing of psalm kindsand the ironic paralleling of important episodes in them. At the same time, Radzinowicz's book relates to each other Milton's two remarkable poetic oeuvres derived from the Old and New Testaments: one an anonymous, powerful, ancient, worship-centered, lyric work, the other an individually determined, revolutionary, heroic work. Originally published in 1989. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.