Milton and the Parables of Jesus

In Milton and the Parables of Jesus, David V. Urban examines Milton’s self-referential use of figures from the New Testament parables in his works of poetry and prose.Urban’s informative introduction explores the history of parable interpretation and the writings of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Reformed biblical commentators, including John Calvin, Matthew Poole, and John Trapp, whose approaches to interpreting the parables resemble Milton’s own. Urban then goes on to analyze Milton’s early poetry and prose; his great epic, Paradise Lost; and his final major poetic works, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. By chronologically tracing Milton’s habit of identifying himself both directly and indirectly with figures represented in Jesus’s parables, Urban delves deeply into the development of Milton’s attitudes toward himself, God, and society. This comprehensive study opens up a new avenue of inquiry regarding Milton’s hermeneutic of parables and his writings as a whole. Urban’s insightful analysis will be invaluable to scholars and students of John Milton, early modern Christianity and literature, and the Reformation.