And chiefly Thou O Spirit, that dost prefer
Paradise Lost, Book I, 17-1
Before all Temples th’ upright heart and pure,
Instruct me, for Thou know’st…
Because I begin my Brit Lit I survey with Beowulf and end it with Paradise Lost, I like to have students think about two different kinds of epic: grand stories of external and internal action. While Beowulf features climactic battles with hellbeasts and dragons, Paradise Lost offers us two human beings deciding whether or not to eat a piece of fruit.
Continue reading “Temples and Hearts”