Milton in the Twentieth Century

This chapter examines Milton not as an absolute, but as a concept historically constructed and changing over time. It examines the ways in which the different Miltons are repaired and returned in the twentieth century. Two of those many Milton revivals form the focus of the chapter: one constructed in polemic about how and why to read Milton; and the other constructed in and by the availability of actual Milton editions that were read over the century. The first section discusses Milton's changing place within academia and his movement from being the common property of men of letters and the common reader in general culture to become the sole preserve of the university-bound specialist in the narrower and less-rewarding culture of higher education. The second section examines Milton readership. It outlines Milton's different periodicities of publishing and reading through the twentieth century.