AdefenceoftheimportanceofpoetrythatstudiesoneofthegreatestpoetsoftheEnglishtradition:JohnMilton.TheLiteraryAgendaisaseriesofshortpolemicalmonographsabouttheimportanceofliteratureandofreadinginthewiderworldandaboutthestateofliteraryeducationinsideschoolsanduniversities.Thecategoryof’theliterary’hasalwaysbeencontentious.Whatisclear,however,ishowincreasinglyitisdismissedorisunrecognisedasawayofthinkingoranarenaforthought.Itisscepticallychallengedfromwithin,forexample,bythesometimesrivalclaimsofculturalhistory,contextualizedexplanation,ormediastudies.Itisshakenfromwithoutbyevengreaterpressures:byeconomicexigencyandtheseveresocialattitudesthatcanfollowfromit;bytechnologicalchangethatmayleavethetraditionalformsofserioushumancommunicationlookingmerelyantiquated.Forjustthesereasonsthisistherighttimeforrenewal,tostartreinvigoratedworkintothemeaningandvalueofliteraryreading.WhywouldanyonereadJohnMiltontoday?Tomany,poetryingeneralisanirrelevantandevenirresponsibleluxurythatwecannotaffordinatimeofenvironmentalandsocialcrisis.Theworkofaseventeenth-century’Puritan’mightseemespeciallyobscureandoutoftouchwithourneeds.ButthisbookarguesthatMiltonoffersusoneofthemostpowerfulargumentsfortheimportanceofpoetrytoday,bothrepresentinginhispoetryanddemonstratingthroughhisownlife,thetransformativeandsustainingforceofthehumanimaginationevenintimesofgreatestupheaval.Writingoutofhisownexperienceoflossanddisappointment,heinsiststhatpoetryisaformofknowledge,awayofseeingandunderstandingtheworldaroundus,others,andindeedourselves.Heusestheresourcesofpoetry--itslanguage,imagery,andforms--tochallengeandshakeusup,makingusthinkinunfamiliarwaysandexpandingourimaginationandoursenseofthepossibilitiesinourlives.Miltoninsiststhatpoetrygivesusknowledgeoftruthsweotherwisewouldneverapprehend;itenrichestheexperienceofbothwritersandreadersandmakesuscreativeandfullyrealizedhumanbeings.
