04 - Poetry and Virginity
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Description
Milton's first publication, A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, is examined. Milton's vision of a poet's heaven in Ad Patrem, paired with the letter to Charles Diodati, with its particular emphasis on the need for chastity in poets, is used as a springboard to a discussion of the depiction of sexual ideals in the masque. Revelation 14, 1 Corinthians, and the Apology for Smectymnuus are also discussed at length, as are the poet's biography and the history of the masque's title.
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