Saint Anselm College will mark John Milton’s 400th birthday Nov. 7 and 8 with a conference organized by the Department of English. Milton 400 will offer a series of academic, musical, and dramatic presentations, all free and open to the public.
The conference will include two plenary lectures and papers presented by faculty and graduate students from colleges and universities across the country, including Saint Anselm College. At the first plenary session, in conjunction with the Bean Foundation Distinguished Lecture Series, internationally acclaimed Milton biographer and scholar Barbara Lewalski, William Kenan, Jr. Professor of Literature at Harvard University, will present a lecture titled "Milton and the Culture Wars." The lecture will begin at 4:30 pm on Friday, Nov.7, in the North Lounge of the Cushing Center.
Later that evening, Theatre KAPOW will present But O How Fall’n: Selected Works Of John Milton. The performance will start at 8:30 p.m. in the Dana Center, and is free and open to the public. It will include selections from Milton’s sonnets, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes and the Areopagatica.
On Saturday, the Fine Arts Department, in collaboration with the Alva deMars Chapel Art Center is hosting English Inspirations: A Program of Vocal Works Inspired by English Poets. . The concert will present compositions by George Fredrich Handel and Gerald Finzi who set Milton’s poetry to music. This performance will take place at 3 p.m. in the Chapel Art Center. There is no charge, but seating is limited. Those desiring tickets should contact Professor Lisa Cleveland, chair of Fine Arts, at lcleveland@anselm.edu.
"Milton’s ability to use breathtaking language and to craft intricate poetic form sets him in a category with few other poets, and his parallel achievements in prose recommend him as a master rhetorician as well," says English Professor Ann-Maria Contarino, a Milton specialist. "Moreover, a modern reader can find in Milton an exploration of serious issues at the center of debate in our own culture. Contemporary sensibilities, for example, often equate liberty with license, whereas Milton reminds us that genuine liberty, both personal and national, is governed by conscience and accompanied by responsibility."