Milton and the Transformation of Ancient Epic (Paperback, 2nd ed.)

Milton has long been recognised as being among the English poets most indebted to ancient literature, but the full range and depth of that debt have rarely been explored. His most obvious debt, to Virgil, has been exaggerated and too vaguely described. Here Charles Martindale reassesses that debt and examines the use Milton made of other ancient poets, notably Homer, Ovid and Lucan, and the way in which they influenced his style. Some surprising elements in the style of "Paradise Lost"--Horace, for example--are also uncovered. The Introduction surveys Milton's attitude to the classics and raises questions of method, while the bulk of the book provides a full account of the relationship between Milton and those four poets who influenced him most profoundly. Renaissance views of classical poets are described, and the value of eighteenth-century commentaries on Milton is demonstrated. Finally, Martindale considers the limits of Milton's classicism and the important differences between "Paradise Lost" and its ancient forebears. The book contains a rare combination of scholarship and critical judgement.