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Remembering and Repeating

On Milton’s Theology and Poetics

In this graceful and compelling book, Regina Schwartz presents a powerful reading of Paradise Lost by tracing the structure of the poem to the pattern of "repeated beginnings" found in the Bible. In both works, the world order is constantly threatened by chaos. By drawing on both the Bible and the more contemporary works of, among others, Freud, Lacan, Ricoeur, Said, and Derrida, Schwartz argues that chaos does not simply threaten order, but rather, chaos inheres in order.

"A brilliant study that quietly but powerfully recharacterizes many of the contexts of discussion in Milton criticism. Particularly noteworthy is Schwartz’s ability to introduce advanced theoretical perspectives without ever taking the focus of attention away from the dynamics and problematics of Milton’s poem."—Stanley Fish




158 pages | frontispiece | 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 | © 1993

Literature and Literary Criticism: British and Irish Literature

Religion: Religion and Literature

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
Repeating
Remembering
1. "And the sea was no more":
Chaos vs. creation
The unclean realm
Cosmogonic conflict
Chaos and the fall
2. "Secret gaze or open admiration":
The invitation to origins
Curiosity and knowledge
Things visible to mortal sight
3. "Remember and tell over":
Creation in sacred song
Ritual recompense
Cosmic liturgy
Paradise Lost as hymn
4. "Yet once more":
Re-creation, repetition, and return
The two falls
The Satanic will
Adamic return
Notes
Works cited
Index

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