[Milton-L] Nigel Smith's Milton in Time Magazine

[Carol Barton]

Justin, do you consider your response to be demonstrative of the kind 
of scholarship you appear to be advocating? No one "savaged Taylor for 
comparing Milton to Shakespeare"--though apparently you chose to 
interpret what was said that way. Can you not see the "politicized 
claptrap" in your own denigration of Professor Williams' comment, or 
your own myopic repetition of my argument as if it were something as 
yet unsaid?

My point was precisely that "there is room for both [Milton and 
Shakespeare] in the canon," and that articles like Taylor's do a 
disservice to academia. Published in a vehicle which is read by an 
essentially lay audience, they may do more than that.

May you never have the experience of being told that you can't teach a 
timely and relevant but as-yet unoffered course in Milton because it 
might lower enrollment in the standard fare (and enrollment in that 
course is already low enough).

And may you stay forever young.

Carol Barton