[Milton-L] Milton defamation in this morning's NY Times

[FLANNAGAN, ROY]

I think I will stick to my "defamation" point.  What McGrath says is misleading and defamatory: "Nor, despite his fond depiction of marital love in 'Paradise Lost,' was Milton much of a ladies' man. His first wife found him so sullen and gloomy that she left him for three years. His second and third wives he turned into drudges and amanuenses."
 
I think a good modern biographer can pretty much prove that Milton was a ladies' man, from Lady Ranelegh to Catherine Thomason.  Yes, Mary Powell left him during a time of severe political stress between the party of her parents and the party of her husband, but she did come back, beg his forgiveness, and she soon got pregnant.  There is no evidence that his second or third wife was a drudge: the conversations with "Betty" that are recorded show the relationship as affable and affectionate, and she cared for his things for what, fifty years after his death.  Even one of his rebellious daughters, Deborah, whom he taught to read Latin and perhaps Greek, burst into tears when she saw her father's portrait.  Her very name shows Milton's respect for women.
 
That hack piece of sculpture, Milton with a cavalier beard with his tongue stuck out and an ironic crown on his head, is more defamation, and a kind of pop art insult.  I think McGrath and that awful sculptor Kirmms are both insulting of and ignorant of the great poet whose reputation they are mocking, perhaps out of jealousy.
 
Roy Flannagan (grouchy on purpose)
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