In his 1820 essay The Defense of Poetry, Percy Shelley wrote, “Nothing can exceed the energy and magnificence of the character of Satan as expressed in Paradise Lost. It is a mistake to suppose that he could ever have been intended for the popular personification of evil.”1 This bold deconstruction of a staunchly Christian poet may haveContinue reading “Dark Designs: Reading and Misreading Milton”
Tag Archives: Seventeenth-Century
The Blazing World of Margaret Cavendish
A ruthless merchant kidnaps a beautiful young woman and takes her on board his ship. But as they make their way toward his home, a freak storm blows them off course. The terrified sailors helplessly fight against the wind and waves as their craft is drawn ever northward to the pole. One by one, theContinue reading “The Blazing World of Margaret Cavendish”
Worlds Imagined 