With forcefulness, fluency, and persistence, Fish succeeds in making his case and honoring his subject: a definitive work.
Nearly 35 years after the publication of Fish’s first landmark study comes this culmination of his lifetime of Milton scholarship.
Fish has distinguished himself most recently as a freelancer in the culture wars, subverting political and intellectual pieties with the skill and cunning (and occasionally the disingenuousness) of a first-rate lawyer. Here, however, he shows himself to be a truly passionate critic, immersing himself in the texts of Comus, Lycidas, Areopagitica, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and other works to explicate the remarkable philosophy that animates and informs them. Instead of staging critical conflicts between good and evil, Fish holds that Milton’s work is continually mapping out a moral universe in which good is immune to both crisis and conflict because it is a state of perfect attunement to God’s will. One of several surprising things that follow from this monolithic morality is that moral value is, by definition, intrinsic, and therefore cannot be ascribed to any object or action. Instead, the meaning of any action proceeds from the inherent moral condition of the individual who effects it: books are only as dangerous (or beneficial) as their readers, and deeds, whatever value they might appear to have in themselves, are really only as good or evil as the doers. So while they are rigidly defined, moral distinctions are not discernible outside the self. Moral conviction is thus placed on an epistemological precipice, requiring constant monitoring and self-questioning to maintain its position. Although Fish acknowledges the pressures this vision brings to bear on Milton’s own legendary ambition and egoism, he is more interested in the principles of Milton’s cosmos than in the personality that informs it. The same applies to poetics, Fish’s literary sophistication notwithstanding. What is at stake here is not artistic but moral truth and, implicitly, what Milton’s radical vision might have to tell our own age.
With forcefulness, fluency, and persistence, Fish succeeds in making his case and honoring his subject: a definitive work.Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-674-00465-5
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Belknap/Harvard Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
