John Milton

Do both of the following: 

At this point you have read a variety of Renaissance and 17th-century sonnets and short lyric poems. Take one of Milton's sonnets (908-09) and in a substantial paragraph, compare it in subject and rhetorical strategy with an earlier sonnet or short lyric. For example, compare Milton's sonnet 7 ("How soon hath Time") with Shakespeare's sonnet 12; or Milton's sonnet 16 or 18 with Philips "Upon the Double Murder" or "On the Third of September, 1651."  

Find a significant passage (such as a paragraph) in Areopagitica and explain why you chose that passage.

Milton’s Sonnet 16 “To the Lord General Cromwell” and Philips’ “Upon the Double Murder of King Charles”

Milton is known for being very political. Compared to most other seventeenth century poets, Milton’s works are less lyrical, perhaps because his subject is often a pressing political issue. Katherine Philips also wrote political poetry, but with a different rhetorical strategy. While Milton uses the second person plural, acting as the voice of all of Cromwell’s supporters, Philips writes in the first person. Milton wants to reach a national audience, while Philips is more concerned with defending her own credibility.  However, they both use Christian references and royal imagery to impress the gravity and truth of their claims.

Areopagitica, p 911-912

Areopagitica is a speech in defense of the freedom of book publication that Milton delivered to the English Parliament in 1644. I chose the paragraph that runs from pages 911 to 912 because of its content and its style. This paragraph frames a good point in Milton’s argument by calling into question the faulty logic behind pre-publication censorship. He facetiously argues that “[i]f we think to relegate printing… we must regulate all recreations and pastimes, all that is delightful to man,” including music, dancing, and architecture (911). This logic is faulty because not only is it undesirable and impossible to regulate these art forms, they would not truly be art if they were so strictly regulated.  The specific examples, such as music, dancing, and architecture, give passion and credibility to the argument. Unlike the introductory paragraph, this one has a more artistic style. Rather than one long, pompous sentence, this paragraph has sentences of several lengths. The rhetorical questions and repetitive syntax rhythm make this paragraph closer to flowing poetry than the preceding ones.