Spring 2021: Milton’s Holy Spirit

It is perhaps apt that the 2021 course topic is Milton’s Holy Spirit, given that the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly complicated class discussions, and that Milton explores the concept of the Holy Spirit as a means of generating community. Our exploration of community, then, will be practical as well as theoretical.

Building upon the past two classes (Milton’s Jesus and Milton and Fanfiction), this class will investigate Milton’s Holy Spirit, asking both esoteric questions like “is the Spirit a person” and very specific ones about the role of the Spirit in Milton’s poetry and prose, as well as his understanding of its function in the life of believers.