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The Development of Milton's Thought: Law, Government, and Religion

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The Development of Milton's Thought: Law, Government, and Religion by John T. Shawcross (Duquesne University Press) Shawcross's presentation of a Milton whose thought does actually develop and change--albeit with an unbending belief that faith and God supervene--is an essential contribution to Milton scholarship. In addition to its relevance to Milton scholars, the text will be of interest to cultural and church historians, theologians, and students of the seventeenth century.
With this pioneering book, John T. Shawcross debunks a common assumption about what we see in Milton's work: that Milton's views remained unchanged over time. Shawcross systematically analyzes this belief in light of Milton's vocation, social life, politics, and religion, and presents us with a Milton who, indeed, changes his mind.
As Shawcross demonstrates, Milton was a poet, political writer, and theologian whose views developed over a career that lasted almost 50 years. Indeed, one might argue that Milton lived during a transitional period in history and thus exhibits a watershed position as we read his various works.
The one constant in Milton's writing and thought is that of faith in God, but the theology that underlies this unchanging faith--such as his views on the Trinity and God's providence--develops through reflection and adverse experience, often yielding more defined ideas. Shawcross also traces the development of Milton's concepts about political thought, attitudes toward the church, financial matters, the "people," and gender, some of which result in complicated (and often unresolved) issues.