Milton's classical republicanism

Milton's Case for a Free Commonwealth

“…21 Examples can be found at Milton VII, 407-08, 426-27, 430-31, 449, and so on. For further discussion, see Dzelzainis (1995a). remarked, this represents something of a shift in his view).…”

Paradise Lost and the Politics of the Corporation

“…The heaven of Milton's epic is more constitutionally innovative than a first glance at its divine monarchy might suggest, but we can only fully appreciate this if we properly understand the mode of collective organisation of the angels, which, by taking on aspects of the early modern corporation, becomes something akin to the "virtuous circle" that Martin Dzelzainis identifies as being the goal of Milton's political organization: "virtue as that which sustained, and was sustained by, the commonwealth." 1 The angels offer an idealistic vision of a community in which virtue is derived from how closely integrated an individual is in the collective. The angelic corporation is therefore a natural extension of Milton's republican thought, since it offers a way to create civic virtue which is not reliant on the establishment or continuance of a specific political order.…”

Contextualizing Milton'sSecond Defence of the English People: Cromwell and the English Republic, 1649‐1654*

“…1 1 Worden, “John Milton,”“Milton,” and “Milton's Republicanism”; Armitage, Ideological Origins ch. 5 and “John Milton”; Dzelzainis, “Milton”; Lewalski; Fallon, Milton and “ Second Defence .” Earlier studies include Woolrych, “Milton” (which views Milton as critical of the Protectorate) and Fixler (Milton as supporting the Protectorate). Norbrook does not belong to either camp. …”

“…3 3 It has been acknowledged that Milton's political writings contain ambiguities. Concerning the rule by a single person, for instance, see Corns; Dzelzainis, “Republicanism.” It is because Milton's view of monarchy oscillates that critics and historians have turned to the neo‐Roman concept of liberty as the core of his republicanism: see Dzelzainis, “Milton's Classical Republicanism,”“Milton's Politics,” and “Republicanism”; Skinner, “John Milton” and Liberty . …”