English 4190, Milton, Autumn 2014                                                                               MWF 10:00 -10:50 pm, CL 121
Dr. Eric W. Nye (nye@uwyo.edu) Office Hours: MWF 11 - 11:50 am and by appt., Hoyt Hall 308, 766-3244
Course website, see: Webliography.htm
 
 
Paper one: Milton�s Early Poetry: the Meaning of Music
 
Milton grew up in a musical world.  From the beginning of his career when he paraphrases the Psalms, Milton�s poetry is directly and indirectly influenced by music.  Music serves as a metaphor, even a symbol.  Its forms provide models of exposition and development.  It works subliminally to reinforce the content of Milton�s poetry.  There is always the music of poetry itself, the features uncovered by prosodic analysis.   Long before he lost his sight, he was already responding to the world aurally.  Ordered sound, like ordered words, embodies beauty, even the most ethereal beauty.

Select a number of examples from his work culminating in Poems 1645 and develop a thesis on what music means to Milton.  Consider his education at Cambridge, his interest in the church and the Bible, his friendships, his attitudes to other poets, his commitment to typologies, and his own idea of beauty. 
 
If you cite sources, give a bibliography, but this is not a research paper.  Aside from Milton�s works, no further research is necessary.  Put together your own best and most coherent appraisal of these early poetic explorations.
 
Five pages, typed, double-spaced.  Due in class on Monday, October 6th.
 
When I read your papers, I�ll mark all mechanical editorial errors with an X in the right margin.  You will then have a chance to find and correct the error(s) in these lines.  If you resubmit the paper two class periods later and have corrected 3/4 of the errors, I�ll raise your grade a half point (e.g. from a B- to a B).