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ENGL 220: Milton

Lecture 12 - The Blind Prophet. This lecture focuses on the invocation to light at the beginning of Book Three of Paradise Lost. Milton's factual and figurative understanding of his blindness is traced through his letters, Sonnet XXII, and the later epic Samson Agonistes. Particular emphasis is placed on the transformation of blindness in the corpus from a spiritual punishment to a poetic gift. The implications of biographical interpretations of literature are also touched upon. (from oyc.yale.edu)

Lecture 12 - The Blind Prophet

Time Lecture Chapters
[00:00:00] 1. Introduction: Milton's Blindness
[00:04:47] 2. How Milton and His Contemporaries Interpreted His Blindness
[00:17:35] 3. Light and the Creation Account: Comparing Milton and The Book of Genesis
[00:39:09] 4. Blindness Explored in "Samson Agonistes"

References
Lecture 12 - The Blind Prophet
Instructor: Professor John Rogers. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov].

Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:

Lecture 01 - Introduction: Milton, Power, and the Power of Milton
Lecture 02 - The Infant Cry of God
Lecture 03 - Credible Employment
Lecture 04 - Poetry and Virginity
Lecture 05 - Poetry and Marriage
Lecture 06 - Lycidas
Lecture 07 - Lycidas (cont.)
Lecture 08 - Areopagitica
Lecture 09 - Paradise Lost, Book I
Lecture 10 - God and Mammon: The Wealth of Literary Memory
Lecture 11 - The Miltonic Smile
Lecture 12 - The Blind Prophet
Lecture 13 - Paradise Lost, Book III
Lecture 14 - Paradise Lost, Book IV
Lecture 15 - Paradise Lost, Books V-VI
Lecture 16 - Paradise Lost, Books VII-VIII
Lecture 17 - Paradise Lost, Book IX
Lecture 18 - Paradise Lost, Books IX-X
Lecture 19 - Paradise Lost, Books XI-XII
Lecture 20 - Paradise Lost, Books XI-XII (cont.)
Lecture 21 - Paradise Regained, Books I-II
Lecture 22 - Paradise Regained, Books III-IV
Lecture 23 - Samson Agonistes
Lecture 24 - Samson Agonistes (cont.)