British Literature Module 4.5
Study Guide: British Literature (Excellence in Literature, English 4)
Focus Text: Paradise Lost by John Milton
I recommend The Major Works by John Milton from Oxford World’s Classics, as it contains both his prose and poetry.
NOTE: This is an epic poem, created to be heard. I strongly recommend listening to it, or at least a portion of it.
- Paradise Lost audiobook: http://amzn.to/2qdlICN
Honors Text
Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe OR
The Confessions by St. Augustine of Hippo (Ignatius Critical Editions) OR
Context Resources
These links represent only the online resources referenced in this module. Instructions, background information, offline resources, and assignments are all found in the Excellence in Literature study guide listed above.
Readings
The Tale of Paradise Lost: Based on the Poem by John Milton by Jude Daly and Nancy Willard
https://darknessvisible.christs.cam.ac.uk/intro/introduction.html
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/milton/
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1094-348X
The Author’s Life
The Life of John Milton: A Critical Biography by Barbara K. Lewalski.
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/milton/miltonbio.htm
http://www.biography.com/people/john-milton-9409395
Poetry
https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/john-milton-poems/
https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/on-mr-miltons-paradise-lost-by-andrew-marvell
https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/george-herbert-poetry
http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poets/herbert-george
Optional: Working it Out: Poetry Study with George Herbert
Audio
Like most great epic poems, Paradise Lost is meant to be heard. You may get it on CD, or listen to a free audio version from Librivox.
Paradise Lost audiobook: http://amzn.to/2qdlICN (Recommended)
https://librivox.org/paradise-lost-by-john-milton-2/ (amateur recording)
https://oyc.yale.edu/english/engl-220
Music
http://darknessvisible.christs.cam.ac.uk/music.html
https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/let-the-bright-seraphim-by-handel/
Video
https://miltonrevealed.berkeley.edu/videos/john-miltons-paradise-lost-drama-part-1
https://darknessvisible.christs.cam.ac.uk/performance.html
Visual Arts
https://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/items/browse/tag/Paradise+Lost
Historic Context
http://bcw-project.org/church-and-state/the-commonwealth/rump-parliament
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Oliver-Cromwell/
https://darknessvisible.christs.cam.ac.uk/politics.html
https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/the-protestant-reformation-by-steven-kreis/
http://www.historyguide.org/earlymod/lecture5c.html
https://voxeu.org/article/protestant-reformation-and-allocation-resources-europe
https://darknessvisible.christs.cam.ac.uk/religion.html
Eyewitness Renaissance by Alison Cole
https://www.britannica.com/event/Renaissance
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac88
https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/history-of-the-renaissance-by-bamber-gascoigne
Places to Go
http://www.miltonscottage.org/
Optional Extra
Annotated online edition:
Index of British Literature context link pages
Note: All Amazon links are affiliate links provided for your convenience; full information in footer.
British Literature Texts (recommended editions)
British Lit study guide, and links to focus and honors texts (opens in a new tab at the author’s Everyday Education site)
