Milton and Gender [Paperback]

A collection of essays on all aspects of gender in Milton's works.Milton's contempt for women has been accepted since Samuel Johnson's famous Life of the poet. Critics have long debated whether Milton's writings were anti- or pro-feminine, a problem further complicated by his advocacy of 'divorce on demand' for men. This book re-evaluates these claims by analysing his major poems, his four divorce tracts, and the responses of female readers ranging from George Eliot and Virginia Woolf to lesser known artists and revolutionaries. Together, these essays provide a fresh perspective on all aspects of gender in Milton's work.Milton's contempt for women has been accepted since Samuel Johnson's famous Life of the poet. Critics have long debated whether Milton's writings were anti- or pro-feminine, a problem further complicated by his advocacy of 'divorce on demand' for men. This book re-evaluates these claims by analysing his major poems, his four divorce tracts, and the responses of female readers ranging from George Eliot and Virginia Woolf to lesser known artists and revolutionaries. Together, these essays provide a fresh perspective on all aspects of gender in Milton's work.Although Milton's contempt for women has been accepted since Samuel Johnson's famous life of the poet, critics continue to debate whether Milton's writings are anti- or pro-feminine, a problem further complicated by his advocacy of divorce on demand for men. This book re-evaluates these claims by analyzing his major poems, his four divorce tracts, and the responses of female readers ranging from George Eliot and Virginia Woolf to lesser known artists and revolutionaries.Introduction: Milton's gendered subjects Catherine Gimelli Martin; Part I. Masculinity, Divorce, and Misogyny in Milton's Prose: 1. The gender of civic virtue: masculinity and Milton's consenting subject Gina Hausknecht; 2. The aesthetics of divorce: 'masculinism' and poetic authority in Tetrachordon and Paradise Lost James Granthal#g