This book showcases cutting-edge research papers from the XIIth international Milton Symposium hosted by the University of Strasbourg, 17-21 June 2019. Strasbourg is home to Martin Bucer, the Protestant reformer from whom Milton drew support for his theory of divorce, and to Gustave Dore, the famous French illustrator of Paradise Lost. The 26 essays gathered in the present volume are by international scholars, including ones from countries outside the Anglosphere, young or experienced. Opening with a tribute to all Milton symposia organized since 1981, the book falls into eight parts, covering all aspects of Milton studies. "Milton and Materiality" starts with an essay by James G. Turner on personal bodily reference in Milton. In "Milton's Style and Language", the polemicist's use of satire is scrutinized and his relation to enthusiasm is examined, while a new light is shed on his sonnets. In "Milton's Prose", in a rare essay on Observations upon the Articles of Peace (1649), David H. Sacks compares Milton's view of Ireland with what he thought of Russia, delving into the notions of "civilization" and "tyranny". Then the reader will find six essays on Paradise Lost, including one by Hiroko Sano, followed by three essays on his minor poems by promising scholars. The debate on the authorship of De Doctrina Christiana is reopened, with many stylometric tables and charts. A new track leads us to Silesia. In "Reception Studies", two Brazilian contributors study Milton through the lens of French philosophers, and the next essay by Christophe Tournu focuses on the first French verse translation of Paradise Lost. The concluding part, "Milton and his Audience", considers Milton's relationship to his readers, music in Haydn's Creation, while Beverley Sherry analyses portraits of Milton and his works in stained glass.

This volume contains a selection of essays presented at the 8th International Milton Symposium, «Milton, Rights and Liberties», which was held in Grenoble, France, 7-11 June 2005. It was the first time ever that such a major event was organized in France, hence the volume’s title. Moreover, Milton’s writings influenced key figures of the French Revolution. The essays presented in this volume were written by emerging as well as confirmed Milton scholars from around the world. Topics range from Romanticism (Milton and Wordsworth) to a psychoanalytic reading of Milton, from the iconography of the garden in Paradise Lost to the prosody of Samson Agonistes, from Derridean readings of Milton to Milton’s presence in Brazil and China. Another volume of essays entitled Milton, Rights and Liberties was published in 2007.

On July 14th, 1790, a key figure in the French Revolution honoured Milton as a founding father of the French republic. In the light of this connection, it was appropriate that the 8th International Milton Symposium (7-11 June 2005) was held in Grenoble, cradle of the French Revolution. But the connection of Milton and Rights takes us well beyond the specific link with France, and the fascinating selection of essays assembled in this volume, many by leading Milton scholars, addresses the question in the poetry as well as the prose. Milton's fervent but changing attitude to liberties is debated from various points of view, so that the volume contains essays on topics ranging from the musical adaptations of Samson Agonistes to its angrily argued parallel with contemporary terrorism, from air pollution in Paradise Lost to Milton's supposed Puritanism and putative parallels with a French pornographer.