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A 6 page essay that summarizes and analyzes John Milton's Areopagitica. It is well known that John Milton is one of the greatest poets of English literature. It is less well known that he is also one of history's greatest proponents of liberty. This is exemplified by his text Areopagitica, which is an impassioned, logical, and persuasive plea for freedom of the press that was penned over a century before the American Founding Fathers institutionalized this principle in government. Examination of this work demonstrates that Milton's arguments against censorship are as relevant today as they were in the seventeenth century. No additional sources cited.
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6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khjmareo.rtf
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proponents of liberty. This is exemplified by his text Areopagitica, which is an impassioned, logical, and persuasive plea for freedom of the press that was penned over a century before
the American Founding Fathers institutionalized this principle in government. Examination of this work demonstrates that Miltons arguments against censorship are as relevant today as they were in the seventeenth century.
In the footnotes provided by the editors of The Norton Anthology of English Literature for John Miltons Areopagitica, Abrams, et al, explain that the title means "things to be
said before the Areopagus" (1024). The Areopagus was the name of the a tribunal in ancient Athens. Abrams, et al, point out that use of this title suggests a comparison
between the Areopagus and the English Parliament. In other words, Milton is setting forth his argument as if before a public forum, with the express intention that part of his
readership will be the members of Parliament. He begins by giving a brief history of censorship, noting first what was forbidden in the ancient world, which were primarily works
that questioned the existence of the gods, and then moves on to the Christian era. Milton portrays the Popes extending "their dominion" and censoring books in an arbitrary and capricious
fashion, as they order books burned and prohibited that they "fancied not" (1025). Then, Martin the Fifth instituted the a bull which banned numerous books, including those of Wycliffe and
Huss, who were earlier reformers of the Church. Undoubtedly, Miltons readers knew that Wycliffe was castigated by the Church for the "sin" of translating the Bible into English. In
this manner, Milton connects the topic of censorship not with protecting the public, but rather with political motivation, as he makes it clear that the Catholic Church used censorship as
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