In this course we will survey the writing and thought of one of most remarkable, idiosyncratic, and influential figures in English literature, an author who transformed into great art the political and religious crises that wracked England in the mid-seventeenth century. We will read Milton's three major poetic works—Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes—and also study some of his controversial prose. While our attention will primarily be on the texts themselves, we will also try to reach a better understanding of the very complex period of English history in which Milton lived and wrote. The workload will include two research exercises, four short in-class unit tests, and a longer research paper. Our textbook will be The Major Works, ed. Stephen Orgel and Jonathan Goldberg (Oxford World's Classics, 2008).