A social history and genealogy of Congregationalist New Covenant theology in Milton’s <i>Paradise Lost</i> (1667)

John Cotton (1585–1625) was the progenitor of the polity; John Owen (1616–1683), its chief theologian; and John Rogers (1627–?1665), the primary theorist of the most radical and influential spin-off, the Fifth Monarchists. By considering these writers as the theological and literary precursors to John Milton and the publication of Paradise Lost (1667) for Congregational readers, this thesis reconstructs a historical literary context that discovers new meanings in the poem while avoiding anachronistic interpretations.

Further, it explores how Milton’s poem contributed to and transformed the literary tradition of the Congregationalist denominational context.<br><br><i>Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2029</i>.<br><br><br>