Madeline Scarlett

I always find it a strange task to try and describe myself to other people when they ask, "Tell me about yourself?" I've often struggled to navigate my identity, where I fit in the world, and what my purpose is. But since I've become an English major, I've discovered a piece of my identity, place, and purpose in this world, and I have found a community and vocation that allows my passions to blossom. I love to read, learn, and understand new and challenging texts. I absolutely love to spend my time collecting and reading books, living vicariously through Downtown Abbey, cuddling up with my puppies, and enjoying this rich and blessed life with my loved ones.  

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John Milton was a dreamer, poet, and original innovator of one of the greatest epic poems in the English language, Paradise Lost. Yes, at times, his misogyny bleeds through his works, but I've always been fascinated by the ways in which he structures the many different facets of his identity: he is at once a blind old man, an authoritative author, a divinely inspired poet, and a prophet. My project focuses on exploring the multi-faceted nature of Milton's constructed, self-fashioned identity. A complex, ever-fascinating man subsequently emerges from the page for admiration and analysis.