Preaching to Adam: Reflections on Milton’s Vocation as a ‘Poet-Priest’ in Book 11 and 12 of Paradise Lost

Abstract

While Milton's decision to become a poet-priest rather than an ordained minister is commonly regarded as an expression of Milton's preference for a poetic vocation over that of a ministerial vocation within the Anglican Church, it is the view of this paper that what Milton is actually does is transforms and expands the traditional role of a poet to include the ministerial function, thereby bringing poetry and preaching together. The result of such an expanded view of poetry espoused by Milton, besides elevating the layman as equal to that of the priest in matters of faith, is that it led to a corresponding expansion of the possibilities in the area of religious poetry. Certain subject matters, such as sermons and biblical exegesis, previously deemed unsuitable for the laity, can now be broached openly with equal justification. A good case in point is the angelic discourses in Milton's Paradise Lost where the poet appropriates the voice of the angel Michael in order to teach and correct in book 11 and 12. Considering that a "sermon intends Exhortation principally and Edification and a holy stirring of religious affections" (Donne VIII 3.10-11), it is possible to read the voice of Michael as an attempt to teach (or edify) the fallen about God's mercies as following the sermonic format for sermonic ends, which is to exhort the fallen to correct their wrong. And, such an effort to teach and exhort through poetry may be at the heart of Milton's vocation as a poet-priest.