Dr. Laura L. Runge
Office: CPR 301J
Phone: 813-974-9496
Office hours: S 04
T 1-2pm; Th 2-4pm;
And By Appt.

Exercise on Milton and eighteenth-century literature:

Dryden wrote the following "Epigram on Milton":

Three poets, in three distant ages born,
Greece, Italy, and England did adorn.
The first in loftiness of thought surpass'd,
The next in majesty, in both the last:
The force of Nature could no farther go;
To make a third, she join'd the former two.

Consider that Dryden died in 1700 and in his lifetime was considered one of the greatest poets (if not the greatest) of his age. Compare Dryden's poetic evaluation of Milton with Johnson's of 1781. How much has changed?

More importantly consider the implications this has for the production of literature after Milton -- "The force of Nature could no farther go."

Write for five minutes on these questions and share your thoughts in a group of three or four. We will open the discussion to the entire class after about 10 minutes.

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