The Divorce Tracts of John Milton: Texts and Contexts

The Divorce Tracts of John Milton: Texts and Contexts

Ed. by Sara J. van den Berg and W. Scott Howard $75.00

Published in 2010| 528 pages | paper | ISBN: 978-0-8207-0440-1

Note:

This book is currently out of print, however a reprint may be possible for faculty/class adoptions, subject to minimum quantities. Please contact our print and fulfillment partner XanEdu Custom Publishing for more information: (800) 218-5971 ext. 8000.

Reviews:

“Sara J. van den Berg and W. Scott Howard have produced an elegant and accessible edition of Milton’s divorce tracts . . . a highly commendable edition that will do an especially fine job of introducing this complex and important body of texts.  The collection is both lightweight and thorough, making it useful for undergraduate and graduate courses.” —Milton Quarterly

"Milton's texts are lightly modernized, with good introductions, extensive notes, and a large selected bibliography. . . . Highly recommended." —Choice 

Book Information:

Both in content and in method, Milton's divorce tracts are important for the questions we ask of the past in order to address urgent issues of the present. Milton's argument that divorce could be "to the good of both sexes" makes this often intimidating writer and his era accessible and compelling to contemporary readers. His claim for divorce on the basis of mutual incompatibility established the groundwork for the justification of divorce in late twentieth century Anglo-American law. Milton's rhetorical methods⎯from cogent advocacy to speculative commentary and poignant vignettes, from citation of authorities and carefully reasoned biblical exegesis to defensive vituperation⎯demonstrate the range of debate in seventeenth century pamphlet warfare that endures in the media of modern culture.

Author Information:

Sara J. van den Berg is professor of English and chair of the English Department at Saint Louis University. She is the author of The Action of Ben Jonson's Poetry, and her essays have appeared in a variety of publications, including Milton Quarterly, Modern Language Quarterly, Early Modern Literary Studies, Ben Jonson Journal, and Literature and Psychology.

W. Scott Howard is associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of English at the University of Denver and the founding editor of the electronic peer-reviewed journal, Appositions: Studies in Renaissance /Early Modern Literature & Culture. His essays have appeared in Milton Quarterly and Early Modern Literary Studies, among others. He has also received support from the PEW Charitable Trusts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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