Milton and the Burden of Freedom

Throughout his writings Milton deeply engaged in political and theological controversy sought to clear a space for human freedom in a world ruled by an omniscient and omnipotent deity. Paradise Lost and Samson Agonistes as well as other works by Milton in verse and prose explore the problematical aspects of a universe ruled by an Old Testament God of wrath demanding obedience who allows his creatures the freedom to be ''authors'' of their own fate. Milton and the Burden of Freedom examines the contradictions inherent in Milton''s religious political and ethical beliefs as expressed in his poems prose writings and the treatise De Doctrina Christiana. Milton whose writings are rooted in the Reformed tradition while challenging Calvinist orthodoxy is both radical and conservative. In this book Warren Chernaik traces the evolution of Milton''s attitude towards freedom servitude and virtue during a century of political upheaval and disappointed hopes.