<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The writing of history was seminal to Milton’s conception of himself as a humanist and is a key to our understanding of his literary career. Yet, Milton’s Brief History of Moscovia and The History of Britain occupy a unique position in the way in which they are poised between the humanist notion of history as counsel and history as an assertion of “republican” values. However, situating Milton in a climate of republicanism has othen been problematic and challenging. Like writers of humanist historical narratives, Milton’s primary aim was to guide the English people in their current political crisis by making the past an analogue of the present. I wish to contend that he approaches his intention generically: by a manipulative use of the genres of history and chorography, Milton is able to straddle the earlier notion of history with the later notions of “republicanism” that permeated the political climate of England in the aftermath of the Civil War. In an inversion of Shklovsky’s notion of “form shaping content”, Milton’s reliance on genre as a vehicle for articulating his political and ideological stance, ultimately results in content shaping form.</p></abstract>

The writing of history was seminal to Milton’s conception of himself as a humanist and is a key to our understanding of his literary career. Yet, Milton’s Brief History of Moscovia and The History of Britain occupy a unique position in the way in which they are poised between the humanist notion of history as counsel and history as an assertion of “republican” values. However, situating Milton in a climate of republicanism has othen been problematic and challenging. Like writers of humanist historical narratives, Milton’s primary aim was to guide the English people in their current political crisis by making the past an analogue of the present. I wish to contend that he approaches his intention generically: by a manipulative use of the genres of history and chorography, Milton is able to straddle the earlier notion of history with the later notions of “republicanism” that permeated the political climate of England in the aftermath of the Civil War. In an inversion of Shklovsky’s notion of “form shaping content”, Milton’s reliance on genre as a vehicle for articulating his political and ideological stance, ultimately results in content shaping form.

“Confused Anarchy and the late civil broils”: The Politics of Genre in Milton’s <italic>Histories</italic>

Prague Journal of English Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

“Confused Anarchy and the late civil broils”: The Politics of Genre in Milton’s 

The writing of history was seminal to Milton’s conception of himself as a humanist and is a key to our understanding of his literary career. Yet, Milton’s...

“Confused Anarchy and the late civil broils”: The Politics of Genre in Milton’s Histories

Published Online: Oct 02, 2020

Page range: 9 - 32

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pjes-2020-0001

Keywords
Milton, genre, history, chorography, politics, ideology

© 2020 Sukanya Dasgupta, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

“Confused Anarchy and the late civil broils”: The Politics of Genre in Milton’s Histories

Published Online: Oct 02, 2020

Page range: 9 - 32

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pjes-2020-0001

KeywordsMilton, genre, history, chorography, politics, ideology

© 2020 Sukanya Dasgupta, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Milton, genre, history, chorography, politics, ideology