Anxiety in Eden: A Kierkegaardian Reading of Paradise Lost / Edition 1

by John S. Tanner

Overview

Tanner uses Kierkegaard's thought, particularly his theory of anxiety, to enrich and enliven a bold new reading of Milton's Paradise Lost. He argues that for Milton and Kierkegaard, the path to sin and to salvation lies through anxiety, that both the poet and the philosopher include anxiety—along with pain, suffering, and paradox—within the compass of paradise. The first half of the work explores anxiety in Eden before the Fall, providing fresh perspectives on such issues as free will, the problem of a fall before the Fall, original sin, the etiology of evil, and prelapsarian knowledge. The second half examines anxiety after the Fall, offering original insights into such issues as the demonic personality, remorse, despair, and faith. Taken as a whole, Tanner's study provides a coherent new existentialist reading of Paradise Lost. Further, though intended primarily as a work of literary criticism, the book touches on matters of broad philosophical, theological, and simply human interest—such as the nature of freedom, knowledge, sin, the self, and salvation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195072044
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/06/1992
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	8.78(w) x 5.84(h) x 0.76(d)

About the Author

Brigham Young University

Table of Contents

	Note on Citations	xi
1.	Introduction: Milton and Kierkegaard	3
I	Anxiety and the Potentiality of Sin
2.	The Fall as Desire and Deed	17
3.	Satan and Sin	39
4.	Anxious Knowledge	68
5.	Temptation by Anxiety	106
II	Anxiety and the Actuality of Sin
6.	Anxiety and Remorse	123
7.	Demonic Despair	145
8.	Anxiety and Salvation	170
	Bibliography	189
	Index of Citations to Paradise Lost	199
	General Index	203

Editorial Reviews

"A careful, scholarly study of hidden facets of Milton's poem as seen through the instrument of Kierkegaard's text.... Tanner's contribution to our understanding of Paradise Lost is both original and far-reaching."—Soren Kierkegaard Newsletter

"Tanner adds a fresh voice to longstanding debates in Milton criticism."—Milton Quarterly

"This book must be added to the genuinely insightful body of Miltonist criticism.... Beautifully organized, gernerously documented, and effectually argued.... Tanner's study does full justice to Milton's dramatic argument and Kierkegaard's psychological analysis. Scholars in English Literature, psychology, theology, and ethics all will learn from this penetrating book."—Literature and Theology

"There is good reason for readers of the journal to know about this valuable contribution to our understanding of important philosophical, psychological, and doctrinal issues.... Not only is Tanner's insight into the works of two great Christian writers of value, but the book also reflects his ability to combine the languages of the academy and the Spirit, of reason and faith."—BYU Studies

From the Publisher