Hope, Land Ownership, and Milton's "Paradise Within"

Abstract

This study examines Milton's ontology of hope in Paradise Lost and argues that Milton's hopefulness about the future after the Restoration hinges crucially on contemporary domestic land issues and changes in land law that Milton contextualizes within the larger discourse of hope. The epic shows that Satan materializes hope, basing his hopes to gain power on the acquisition of land. The epic also demonstrates that while land may be a source of powers and liberty, real hope comes from Pauline and Augustinian notions of spiritual hope and faithful stewardship of land.

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