Complications of Interest: Milton, Scotland, Ireland and National Identity in 1649

Raymond, Joad (2004) Complications of Interest: Milton, Scotland, Ireland and National Identity in 1649. Review of English Studies, 55 (220). pp. 315-345. ISSN 1471-6968

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Abstract

Milton's first commissioned treatise for the commonwealth, Articles of Peace … Upon all which are added Observations (1649), has attracted relatively little critical comment and fewer kind words. His attack on the Irish has been seen as a blueprint for the violence of Cromwell's reconquest of Ireland. Yet close contextualization in the politics of the archipelago, comparison among other polemics of this period, and juxtaposition with his other writings in 1649, suggest that in Observations Milton's real concerns lie not with the barbaric Irish, but with Scottish influence on English politics. He expresses misgivings about the civility of his own people that bring into question his patriotism, and he articulates anxiety about the stumbling progress of the revolution in government. The undistinguished work, which Milton never acknowledged, offers an insight into his republicanism, nationalism, and pragmatism at a critical moment in his literary career.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Literature and Creative Writing (former - to 2011)
Depositing User:	EPrints Services
Date Deposited:	01 Oct 2010 13:56
Last Modified:	02 Mar 2023 12:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/9188
DOI:	10.1093/res/55.220.315

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