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Our Newest Course
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is the great long, English poem. It is a beautiful, penetrating, and challenging look at human nature, the relationship between God, man, and the angels, and the relationship between men and women. John Milton’s poetry evokes the powerful temptation contained in Satan’s rhetoric to make the reader experience the Fall within himself as Adam eats of the fruit. The poem reveals the stark contrast between Satan’s lies and God’s truth. We face God’s hard justice but rejoice in His mercy. We are reminded that in the midst of decay and turmoil there is hope.
Join Stephen Smith, Temple Family Professor in English Literature, on this flight from the depths of Hell to the heights of Heaven to better understand the limits of our human perspective. In this course, you will contemplate the power of providence, experience life in Paradise, dread the impending Fall, imagine the war in Heaven, discover true liberty, and feel the extent of God’s love.
Taught by:
Stephen Smith, Temple Family Professor in English Literature
Latest Articles
True Liberty in Paradise Lost
November 7, 2024
John Milton’s Paradise Lost is the great long poem in the English language. The epic poem tells the story of the Fall, but it starts with the fall of the angels who followed Satan. It is the tragic tale of Satan’s jealousy and his desire to corrupt that which God loves because he could not defeat God in battle. Milton opens with the scene in Hell as Satan awakes on the fiery lake. He gathers hi...
Beethoven’s Fifth Transformed Music
October 31, 2024
Few symphonies rival the popularity of Beethoven’s fifth. The work has made its way across every major concert hall in the world, influenced today’s popular music, and is heard in film and television. The piece is so well known that it’s nearly impossible to whistle the opening’s theme, without someone recognizing it. But as with all popular music, and especially in the case of classical music, on...
Prospero’s Revenge
October 24, 2024
I published a post on the first lecture of Shakespeare’s The Tempest three weeks ago. In that post we learned that Prospero, a learned man and magician, lost his dukedom to his scheming younger brother, Antonio, who conspired against him with King Alonso. Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, were sent to sea on a small and leaky boat and expected to die, but providentially ended up at an island whe...
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Takes the student through the full context of the course subject matter. Wonderful insight into how we strayed and its consequences and offers a solution.
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