Milton Today: Special Issues of Milton Studies 62.2 and 63.1

These two special issues of Milton Studies set out to show why John Milton matters by telling two interrelated stories. Even as the field of literary studies continues to expand and rightly embraces more diverse and more recent writers, why does Milton have a biannual journal devoted to his life and works, as well as a separate quarterly publication, a biennial conference, an annually convening society, and a triennial international symposium? The essays collected in these two issues of Milton Studies address these questions directly and indirectly, and chart some of the ways that Milton’s writings continue to resonate in our current times.

The first story that these essays tell concerns Milton’s awesome accomplishment in verse. Why do we still read Milton today? Because of his poetry’s soaring beauty and extraordinary subtlety. His poems both move and challenge, inform and inspire. Several of the writers of these essays recall the experience of first reading Milton—and of being astounded. For the majesty of his expression, the force of his imagery, and the depth of his learning, Milton is without equal, and his epic Paradise Lost is arguably the greatest single poem written in English.

But the essays in these twin issues of Milton Studies tell a second, related story. Milton’s relevance also stems from the way that his wide range of works speaks to our cultural moment. William Wordsworth was one of the first writers to insist on Milton’s timelessness and timeliness. He begins “London, 1802” shouting: “Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour.” Writing near the start of the nineteenth century, Wordsworth saw Milton as a moral hero, someone who could expose England’s corruption and “give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.” Wordsworth pleads with his esteemed forbear, “England hath need of thee: she is a fen / Of stagnant waters.”

The world today still has need of Milton. In this time of deep political divisions, of global crises, of ongoing social unrest, of racial conflict— Milton’s works offer keen insights and crucial warnings. Milton was not a man out of time; he wrote topical prose tracts about what are now perceived as arcane religious and political controversies, and most of his shorter poems are occasional, composed to commemorate a specific event or person. But even in these works, sometimes burdened with obscure allusions or long-forgotten references, Milton evinces a core set of poetic and moral principles. In both his poetry and prose, he never falters in his commitment to the power of language—to effect political change, to teach virtue and civility, and to celebrate the glory of existence. He also remains steadfast in his belief that individuals have not just the right but the responsibility to think for themselves. Whether defending a couple’s power to dissolve a bad marriage, asserting a people’s right to hold their rulers accountable, or depicting Adam and Eve’s free will in the garden of Eden—Milton again and again shows readers how to remain constant in the face of uncertainty, temptation, and the inevitable mistakes that come with being human.

Of course, to argue for Milton’s ongoing relevance for the regular readers of this journal is to preach to the choir. Teachers and scholars who write and think about Milton today do not need to be convinced of his works’ value. Yet the essays collected here help to articulate and develop the sometimes unspoken reasons why not just teachers and scholars but also thoughtful people outside of academics still turn repeatedly to the works of a man who lived some 400 years ago.

Assembled here is a varied group of contributors—both seasoned and up-and-coming critics—with a wide range of specialties and interests. These writers present a Milton without boundaries—with a vital presence far away from seventeenth-century London, including (as these essays show) present-day Egypt and modern China. Milton has much to say about discussions of globalism, national identity, and strong borders. And, writing as the relatively new technology of the printed book trade rapidly expanded...