Anxiety in Eden A Kierkegaardian Reading of Paradise Lost [Hardcover]

Tanner uses Kierkegaard's thought, particularly his theory of anxiety, to enrich and enliven a bold new reading of Milton'sParadise Lost. He argues that for Milton and Kierkegaard, the path to sin and to salvation lies through anxiety, that both the poet and the philosopher include anxiety--along with pain, suffering, and paradox--within the compass of paradise. The first half of the work explores anxiety in Eden before the Fall, providing fresh perspectives on such issues as free will, the problem of a fall before the Fall, original sin, the etiology of evil, and prelapsarian knowledge. The second half examines anxiety after the Fall, offering original insights into such issues as the demonic personality, remorse, despair, and faith. Taken as a whole, Tanner's study provides a coherent new existentialist reading ofParadise Lost. Further, though intended primarily as a work of literary criticism, the book touches on matters of broad philosophical, theological, and simply human interest--such as the nature of freedom, knowledge, sin, the self, and salvation.

A careful, scholarly study of hidden facets of Milton's poem as seen through the instrument of Kierkegaard's text.... Tanner's contribution to our understanding ofParadise Lostis both original and far-reaching. --Soren Kierkegaard Newsletter

Tanner adds a fresh voice to longstanding debates in Milton criticism. --Milton Quarterly

This book must be added to the genuinely insightful body of Miltonist criticism.... Beautifully organized, gernerously documented, and effectually argued.... Tanner's study does full justice to Milton's dramatic argument and Kierkegaard's psychological analysis. Scholars in English Literature, psychology, theology, and ethics all will learn from this penetrating book. --Literature and Theology

There is good reason for readers of the journal to know about this valuable contribution to our underslCÅ