Why John Milton Matters

Topic/Thesis Statement: Gary Snyder writes “What use, Milton, a silly story // Of our lost
general parents, eaters of fruits?” in his poem “Milton by Firelight,” and in response to the
question he poses about John Milton, I want to argue Milton’s use; that being, how much Milton
matters, even in the realm of contemporary poetry (9-10). Of course, since Snyder is
questioning the use of Milton’s Paradise Lost in his poem, I will focus on how Paradise Lost
matters, and how the text even inspires contemporary poetry. In fact, Snyder dedicating an
entire poem to Milton’s Paradise Lost says a lot about how Milton’s work transcends time and
generations. As further evidence of Milton’s timelessness, the Romantics, who came centuries
after Milton, adored him, between his presence in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and William
Wordsworth’s famous quote “Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour; England hath need of
thee,” that much is undeniable. And to extend into the more contemporary realm, there was a
heightened interest in Paradise Lost, especially after WWII, so much in fact that “at least four full
length operas or oratorios have been based upon Paradise Lost.” In general, I believe the topic
of Milton’s usefulness in contemporary literature would be fun to explore. Essentially, why does
Milton matter today? Why does he matter/why is his prose useful as opposed to how Snyder
feels about Milton and Paradise Lost? And make sure to make the paper a response to Snyder
in that sense, and in reference to his poem, “Milton by Firelight.”
Use the sources listed below to make your argument(s), and more details about arguments that
can be made regarding one of the sources will be explained below as well.
(It should be noted that Snyder is part of a tradition of such comments — see Virginia Woolf (if
women “Can get past Milton’s bogey”) and AE Housman (“malt does more than Milton can / to
justify the ways of God to man”). Mentioning these remarks/quoting them while making your
argument in the paper on why Milton does in fact matter/is important/etc. Will be an important
point/part of the paper)