Milton's Italy

This book joins a trend toward transnational literary studies and revives a tradition of Anglo-Italian scholarship centering on John Milton. Correcting misperceptions diminishing the international dimensions of his life and work, it surveys Milton’s Italianate studies, travels, poetics, politics, and religious convictions. Few contemporary critics have explored the Italian sources of his anti-papal, anti-episcopal, and anti-formalist religious outlook. Relying on Milton’s own testimony, this book explores its roots in Dante, Petrarch, Ariosto, and Sarpi. Besides republicanism and theology, equally strong influences treated here include Italian Neoplatonism, cosmology, and romance epic.