by Ashraf H. Rushdy
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992
Paper: 978-0-8229-8544-0 | eISBN: 978-0-8229-7687-5 | Cloth: 978-0-8229-3719-7
Library of Congress Classification PR3588.R86 1992
Dewey Decimal Classification 821.4

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ABOUT THIS BOOK

The Empty Garden draws a portrait of Milton as a cultural and religious critic who, in his latest and greatest poems, wrote narratives that illustrate the proper relationships among the individual, the community, and God. Rushdy argues that the political theory implicit in these relationships arises from Milton’s own drive for self-knowledge, a kind of knowledge that gives the individual freedom to act in accordance with his or her own understanding of God’s will rather than the state’s. Rushdy redefines Milton’s creative spirit in a way that encompasses his poetic, political, and religious careers.