Milton and the Art of Rhetoric - Hardcover

Shore, Daniel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1107021502 ISBN 13: 9781107021501

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2012

Synopsis

Challenging the conventional view of John Milton as an iconoclast who spoke only to a "fit audience though few," Daniel Shore argues that Milton was a far more pragmatic writer than previous scholarship has recognized. Summoning evidence from nearly all of his works - poetry and prose alike - Shore asserts that Milton distanced himself from the prescriptions of classical rhetoric to develop new means of persuasion suited to an age distrustful of traditional eloquence. Shore demonstrates that Milton's renunciation of agency, audience, purpose, and effect in the prose tracts leads not to quietism or withdrawal, but rather to a reasserted investment in public debate. Shore reveals a writer who is committed to persuasion and yet profoundly critical of his own persuasive strategies. An innovative contribution to the field, this text will appeal to scholars of Milton, seventeenth-century literature, Renaissance literature, and the history and theory of rhetoric.

About this title

Book Description:

This book shows how Milton used innovative and cunning means to persuade his readers in an age that was distrustful of traditional rhetoric. It will appeal to readers interested in early modern literature, poetry, and polemic, as well as those concerned with Greek, Roman, and Renaissance rhetoric.

About the Author:

Daniel Shore is Assistant Professor of English at Georgetown University. His work has appeared in journals such as PMLA, Critical Inquiry and Milton Studies. In 2006, the Milton Society of America awarded him the James Holly Hanford Award for 'Most Distinguished Essay' of the year. He earned his PhD and Master's degrees from Harvard University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1107021502
• ISBN 13: 9781107021501
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 211